The group of Attine ants is part of a complex symbiosis. There is a complex ant-microbe mutualism and other microbes have evolved in this system. The ants have an obligate mutualism with fungi that they cultivate for food, Leucoagaricus gongylophorus; fungal parasites (genus Escovopsis) can be harmful to the garden. Hence,
to protect against the parasite, ants have a mutualism with actinomycetes bacteria that produces important antibiotics to avoid parasites. Besides the new symbiont associated with leaf-cutting ants: black yeast. Therefore, the aim of our study is to analyze the chemical interactions of the microbial symbionts
of leaf-cutting ants through co-cultivation studies on solid media with these microbes. The strains of microbes used in this study were isolated from the nest of Atta and Acromyrmex ants. All the microbes were cultivated in axenic and co-culture in maltose yeast extract agar medium (YEMA). The agar with the microbial
was extracted with ethyl acetate overnight. The samples were analyzed by HPLC-HRMS and the data were compared using MS/MS Molecular networking through the GNPS-platform and compared using Metaboanalyst. These results suggest a microbial interaction produce differences in the LC-HRMS fingerprinting. Those
experiments can be used as a source of induction of different secondary metabolites in cocultivations. The co-cultivation extracts showed antimicrobial activity against the actinomycete. Those results can help to understand how works the chemical communication in leaf-cutting ants garden.

Cocultivation as a toll to understand the communication among the leafcutting ants symbionts

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