Study of symbiotic gut bacteria across life stages and castes from 13 species of Cephalotes turtle ants

We perform amplicon sequencing to study symbiotic gut bacteria across life stages and castes from 13 species of Cephalotes turtle ants. We aim to provide some of the first evidence for the importance of distinct mechanisms in the maintenance of stage-specific gut symbioses in ants, and other insects, providing insights with relevance for understanding microbiomes of insects with complete metamorphosis.