The ant fungus garden acts as an external digestive system
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Abstract
Most animals digest their food within their own bodies, but some do not. Many species of ants grow fungus gardens that pre-digest food as an essential step of the ants’ nutrient uptake. To better understand this digestion process, we generated a 3D molecular map of an Atta texana fungus garden, revealing chemical modifications mediated by the fungus garden as plant material passes through.
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- last seen: 2026-05-19T01:45:01.086888+00:00