The Leaf-Cutting Ant–plant Interaction from a Microbial Ecology Perspective

Abstract

*[The interaction between plants & herbivores is responsible for energy, nutrient flow, population regulation, & the shaping of vegetation physiognomy & species composition. Digestion of plant material is a complex chemical process that in some cases goes beyond the metabolic capacity of multicellular organisms. A key metabolic bottleneck has been solved by some herbivores through evolutionary processes that led to interactions between herbivores & microorganisms.]