An Ancient Tripartite Symbiosis Of Plants, Ants And Scale Insects

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Veterinary
Article Date: 10 Jul 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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In this paper we infer the antiquity of an obligate tripartite association involving symbiotic ants, plants and scale insects in the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia.

The prevalence of scale insect associates in ant-plant mutualisms at large suggests they play an important role in the evolutionary origins of these mutualisms.

Previous studies estimate the association between the ants and plants to be 16-20 million years old. Here, we estimate the symbiotic scale insects to be about half this age, suggesting they were late-comers in the evolutionary history of the symbiosis.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

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