Before humans invented antibiotics to defend themselves against infections and parasites, the natural evolution provided ants with a system much like antibiotic vending machine.
Ants that tend and harvest gardens of fungus have a secret weapon against the parasites that invade their crops: antibiotic-producing bacteria that the insects harbor on their bodies.
A team of Wisconsin-Madison University researchers led by bacteriologist Cameron Currie found that the ants
house the bacteria in specialized, highly adapted cavities and nourish them with glandular secretions.
According to the statements made by Cameron Currie, it seems that the ants, bacteria, fungus and parasites have likely been evolving together for tens of millions of years.
"Every ant species [that we have examined] has different, highly modified structures to support different types of bacteria. This indicates the ants have rapidly adapted to maintain the bacteria. It also indicates that the co-evolution between the bacteria and the ants, as well as the fungus and parasites, has been occurring since very early on, apparently for tens of millions of years," says Currie.
Researchers hope they will be able to use this discovery to improve the antibiotics' efficiency.
It's a well-known fact that over the years, the organism develops a certain resistance to antibiotics, which prevents them from achieving the desired effect.
But when it comes to ants, this principle doesn't apply anymore, for millions of years, the insects being able to destroy the parasites.
We can learn a lot about our own use of antibiotics from this system," the study author also said.
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