A recent study from Smithsonian scientists explores the origins of the close partnership between ants and fungi, revealing that ant colonies began farming fungi approximately 66 million years ago, coinciding with a mass extinction event caused by an asteroid impact.

This asteroid strike created favorable conditions for fungi to thrive, leading to an evolutionary partnership between ants and fungi that continues today.

The study emphasizes the resilience of ecosystems, highlighting how ants and fungi adapted and thrived after one of Earth's most catastrophic events.

The period following the impact saw a rise in fungal spores, providing ants with resources to farm, indicating that ant agriculture likely originated during this ecological crisis.

The genetic material gathered from the study will aid further research into the behavior of agricultural ants and the adaptations of the fungi they farm.

Today, four groups of ants cultivate four types of fungus, often altering their growth to provide specific nutrients, showcasing the complexity of their agricultural practices.

Entomologist Ted Schultz, the study's lead author, emphasizes that ants have practiced agriculture for longer than humans have existed, suggesting we could learn from their success.

These fungi produce gongylidia, a food source that sustains complex colonies of leafcutter ants, which can number in the millions.

Researchers built an evolutionary tree using genetic data from fungi and ants, tracing their co-evolution back to the time of the asteroid impact.

The research involved contributions from multiple institutions and was supported by various scientific organizations and foundations.

Published in the journal Science, the study analyzed genetic data from 475 species of fungi and 276 species of ants to construct detailed evolutionary trees.

Historically, it was believed that fungal farming by ants had a single origin, but advancements in genome sequencing have allowed for deeper insights into this co-evolution.