ADVANCES IN UNDERSTANDING THE MICROBIOTA OF ANTS IN BRAZIL: REVIEW AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

Since the advent of DNA sequencing and the introduction of new sequencing technologies such as Next Generation Sequencing, we have advanced our understanding of ants, including the host-microbe interactions maintained within their bacterial communities, sometimes spanning 50 million years. This significant advancement has been attributed to exploration of non-cultivable bacteria, yielding unprecedented data. Considering that Brazil harbors one of the world's largest ant diversities, exclusively unique biomes, it is expected that bacterial diversity is equally extraordinary. Thus, this study systematically reviews and shows meta-analysis aiming to provide a comprehensive view of ant microbiota in Brazil, identifying the studied ant species and genera, mapping the explored biomes, and delineating the functional traits of studied ants, ultimately outlining future perspectives. This includes identifying hotspots for subsequent studies, and identifying biomes that have not yet been investigated. This study for the first time, gaps in ant subfamilies/genera, and locations still underexplored in the context of host-microbe interactions in Brazil. Results of this study reveal that bacterial community composition is significantly affected by biome, subfamily, and diet type, being the first study of its kind to do so on such a large scale. Additionally, it can serve as a guide for the myrmecology community to direct future microbiota studies, aiming to expand both the number of ant species and investigated locations. Furthermore, this study has the potential to unravel more about Neotropical microbiological diversity, contributing significantly to understanding the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying ant-bacteria associations.