Deep Sequencing Uncovers Caste-Associated Diversity of Symbionts in the Social Ant Camponotus japonicus

Social animals, such as primates and some insects, have been shown to exchange symbiotic microbes among individuals through sharing diet or habitats, resulting in increased consistency of microbiota among social partners. The ant is a representative of social insects exhibiting various castes within a colony; queens, males, and nonreproductive females (so-called workers) show distinct morphologies, physiologies, and behaviors but tightly interact with each other in the nest. However, how this social context affects their gut microbiota has remained unclear. In this study, we deeply sequenced the gut symbiont community across various castes of the carpenter ant Camponotus japonicus . We report caste-dependent diversity of commensal gut microbial community and lineage divergence of the mutualistic endosymbiont “ Candidatus Blochmannia.” This report sheds light on the hidden diversity in microbial populations and community structure associated with guts of males in social ants.