Figure 3. Antagonistic reactions between Pseudonocardia strains associated with Acromyrmex leaf-cutting ants.

Average degree of antagonism from the resident towards the intruder actinomycetes for the total of the 144 combinations performed within and between actinomycete strains isolated from five species of Acromyrmex. Strains are labeled after the ant species they were isolated from, and strains from the same ant species are distinguished by their labeling (A through L). Different shades of grey denote strength of inhibition (average size of zone of inhibition, zoi; n = 3): white = no inhibition, light grey = 0.01–0.29cm, grey = 0.30–0.59cm, darker grey = 0.60–0.89cm, and darkest grey = above 0.90cm. A) Shows the bioassay results organized according to the phylogenetic placement of the twelve strains paired, based on 1394bp of 16S and 959bp of EF-Tu sequences; bootstrap support values after 1000 pseudoreplicates under MP (top, left), ML (top, right), and NJ (bottom) conditions are given for the branches separating the major clades. B) Shows the bioassay results organized according to the ant species origin of the actinomycetes, with horizontal lines separating reactions displayed by isolates from the five ant species.