Leaf Cutting Ants and Fungus Reading Answers

Jan 31, 2023

Leaf Cutting Ants and Fungus Reading Answers contains sample answers about a particular type of ants. Leaf Cutting Ants and Fungus Reading Answers comprising 14 different types of questions. IELTS Leaf Cutting Ants and Fungus Reading Answers contains three types of questions, namely-write the appropriate letter, write the correct letter and choose the correct letter. Candidates are required to read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly and write the appropriate letter to match the given options with the activities of ants mentioned. Candidates are supposed to write the correct letter of paragraph which contains the given statement. For the last set of questions, candidates are required to choose the correct letter from the given multiple choices for each answer. To gain proficiency, candidates can practise from the IELTS Reading practice papers

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Leaf cutting Ants and Fungus Reading Answers

The ants and their agriculture have been extensively studied over the years, but the recent research has uncovered intriguing new findings about the fungus they cultivate, how they domesticated it and how they cultivate it and preserve it from pathogens. For example, the fungus farms, which the ants were thought to keep free of pathogens, turn out to be vulnerable to a devastating mold, found nowhere else but in ants’ nests. To keep the mold in check, the ants long ago made a discovery that would do credit to any pharmaceutical laboratory.

Leaf-cutting ants and their fungus farms are a marvel of nature and perhaps the best known example of symbiosis, the mutual dependence of two species. The ants’ achievement is remarkable -he biologist Edward O. Wilson has called it “one of the major breakthroughs in animal evolution” -because it allows them to eat, courtesy of their mushroom’s digestive powers, the otherwise poisoned harvest of tropical forests whose leaves are laden with terpenoids, alkaloids and other chemicals designed to sicken browsers

Fungus growing seems to have originated only once in evolution, because all gardening ants belong to a single tribe, the descendants of the first fungus farmer. There are more than 200 known species of the attine ant tribe, divided into 12 groups, or genera. The leaf-cutters use fresh vegetation; the other groups, known as the lower attines because their nests are smaller and their techniques more primitive, feed their gardens with detritus like dead leaves, insects and feces. In 1994 a team of four biologists, Ulrich G. Mueller and Ted R. Schultz from Cornell University and Ignacio H. Chapela and Stephen A. Rehner from the United States Department of Agriculture, nanlyzed the DNA of ant funguses. The common assumption that the funguses are all derived from a single strain, they found, was only half true.

The leaf-cutters’ fungus was indeed descended from a single strain, propagated clonally, or just by budding, for at least 23 million years. But the lower attine ants used different varieties of the fungus, and in one case a quite separate species, the four biologists discovered. Cameron R. Currie, a Ph.D. student in the University of Toronto, it seemed to Mr. Currie, resembled the monocultures of various human crops, that are very productive for a while and then succumb to some disastrous pathogen, such as the Irish potato blight. Monocultures, which lack the genetic diversity to respond to changing environmental threats, are sitting ducks for parasites. Mr. Currie felt there had to be a parasite in the ant- fungus system. But a century of ant research offered no support for the idea. Textbooks describe how leaf-cutter ants scrupulously weed their gardens of all foreign organisms. “People kept telling me, ‘You know the ants keep their gardens free of parasites, don’t you?’ “ Mr. Currie said of his efforts to find a hidden interloper.

But after three years of sifting through attine ant gardens, Mr. Currie discovered they are far from free of infections. In last month’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, he and two colleagues, Dr. Mueller and David Mairoch, isolated several alien organisms, particularly a family of parasitic molds called Escovopsis. Escovopsis turns out to be a highly virulent pathogen that can devastate a fungus garden in a couple of days. It blooms like a white cloud, with the garden dimly visible underneath. In a day or two the whole garden is enveloped. “Other ants won’t go near it and the ants associated with the garden just starve to death,” Dr. Rehner said. “They just seem to give up, except for those that have rescued their larvae.”

Evidently the ants usually manage to keep Escovopsis and other parasites under control. But with any lapse in control, or if the ants are removed, Escovopsis will quickly burst forth. Although new leaf-cutter gardens start off free of Escovopsis, within two years some 60 percent become infected. The discovery of Escovopsis’s role brings a new level of understanding to the evolution of the attine ants. “In the last decade, evolutionary biologists have been increasingly aware of the role of parasites as driving forces in evolution,” Dr. Schultz said. There is now a possible reason to explain why the lower attine species keep changing the variety of fungus in their mushroom gardens, and occasionally domesticating new ones— to stay one step ahead of the relentless Escovopsis.

Interestingly, Mr. Currie found that the leaf-cutters had in general fewer alien molds in their gardens than the lower attines, yet they had more Escovopsis infections. It seems that the price they pay for cultivating a pure variety of fungus is a higher risk from Escovopsis. But the leaf-cutters may have little alternative: they cultivate a special variety of fungus which, unlike those grown by the lower attines, produces nutritious swollen tips for the ants to eat.

Discovery of a third partner in the ant-fungus symbiosis raises the question of how the attine ants, especially the leaf-cutters, keep this dangerous interloper under control. Amazingly enough, Mr. Currie has again provided the answer. “People have known for a hundred years that ants have a whitish growth on the cuticle,” said Dr. Mueller, referring to the insects’ body surface. “People would say this is like a cuticular wax. But Cameron was the first one in a hundred years to put these things under a microscope. He saw it was not inert wax. It is alive.” Mr. Currie discovered a specialized patch on the ants’ cuticle that harbors a particular kind of bacterium, one well known to the pharmaceutical industry, because it is the source of half the antibiotics used in medicine. From each of 22 species of attine ant studied, Mr. Cameron and colleagues isolated a species of Streptomyces bacterium, they reported in Nature in April. The Streptomyces does not have much effect on ordinary laboratory funguses. But it is a potent poisoner of Escovopsis, inhibiting its growth and suppressing spore formation. Because both the leaf-cutters and the lower attines use Streptomyces, the bacterium may have been part of their symbiosis for almost as long as theEscovopsis mold. If so, some Alexander Fleming of an ant discovered antibiotics millions of years before people did. Even now, the ants are accomplishing two feats beyond the powers of human technology. The leaf-cutters are growing a monocultural crop year after year without disaster, and they are using an antibiotic apparently so wisely and prudently that, unlike people, they are not provoking antibiotic resistance in the target pathogen.

Section 2

Solution with Explanation
Questions 14-19:
Use the information in the passage to match the options (listed A-C) with activities or features of ants below.
Write the appropriate letters A-C in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.

NB you may use any letter more than once

Leaf-cutting ants
Lower attines
Both

Question 14. Use toxic leaves to feed the fungus.

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: The biologist Edward O. Wilson has called it “one of the breakthroughs in animal evolution because it allows them to eat, courtesy of their mushroom’s digestive powers, the otherwise poisoned harvest of tropical forests whose leaves are laden with terpenoids, alkaloids and other chemicals designed to sicken browsers.
Keywords: animal evolution, mushroom’s digestive powers, tropical forests.
Keyword location: Paragraph B, lines 3-7
Explanation:According to paragraph B, leaf-cutting ants mostly use toxic or noxious leaves from tropical woods to feed the fungus. It has been dubbed "one of the breakthroughs in animal evolution" by biologist Edward O. Wilson. Due to the digestive abilities of their fungus, it enables them to eat.

Question 15. Build small nests and live with the different foreign fungi.

Answer: B
Supporting Statement: The leaf-cutters use fresh vegetation; the other groups, known as the lower small attines because their nests are smaller and their techniques more primitive, feed their gardens with detritus like dead leaves, insects, and faces.
Keywords: Leaf-cutters, vegetation, nests smaller
Keyword location: Paragraph C, lines 4-6 and Paragraph D, lines 1-4
Explanation: In contrast to the other groupings, known as the lower small attines, paragraph C shows that the leaf-cutters use fresh flora. This is a result of their smaller nests and simpler farming techniques. It involves feeding their plants with scraps like decaying leaves, insects, and even faces. Hence, the answer is B.

Question 16. Use dead vegetables to feed the fungus.

Answer: B
Supporting Statement: The leaf-cutters use fresh vegetation; the other groups, known as the lower small attines because their nests are smaller and their techniques more primitive, feed their gardens with detritus like dead leaves, insects, and faces.
Keywords: Leaf-cutters, vegetation, nests smaller
Keyword location: Paragraph C lines 4-6
Explanation: According to paragraph C, the lower attine ants feed the fungus with dead and decomposing plant matter. Fresh vegetation is used by the leaf-cutters. the additional groupings, also referred to as lower tiny attines. Feed their gardens with trash like dead leaves, insects, and faces, primarily because of their smaller nests and more basic tactics. Therefore, the answer is B.

Question 17. Raise a single fungus that doesn’t live with other foreigners.

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: The leaf-cutters’ fungus was indeed descended from a single strain, propagated clonally, or just by budding, for at least 23 million years.
Keywords: leaf-cutters, single strain, budding, 23 million years
Keyword location: Paragraph D, lines 1-2
Explanation: Paragraph D suggests that the fungus, which was a monoculture, was the only food supply for the leaf-cutter ants. The fungus that caused leaf-cutting was in fact descended from a single strain and had at least 23 million years of clonal or simple budding reproduction. Thus, the right answer is A.

Question 18. normally keep a highly dangerous parasite under control

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: Textbooks describe how leaf-cutter ants scrupulously weed their gardens of all foreign organisms.
Keywords: textbooks, leaf-cutter ants, weed, foreign organisms.
Keyword location: Paragraph D, lines 10-11
Explanation: According to paragraph D, the leaf-cutter ants are capable of protecting the gardens from even the most dangerous parasites. Books highlight the meticulous weeding of their gardens by leaf-cutter ants to remove any unwelcome creatures. Therefore, the right answer is A.

Question 19. use special strategies to fight against Escovopsis

Answer: C
Supporting Statement: Evidently the ants usually manage to keep Escovopsis and other parasites under control.
Keywords: ants, escovopsis, parasites.
Keyword location: Paragraph F, lines 1-2
Explanation: In order to combat Escovopsis, exclusive techniques or tactics are implied by both leaf-cutting ants and the lower attines, as stated in paragraph F. Evidently, the ants are usually successful in keeping parasites like Escovopsis under control. Hence, the right answer is C.

Questions 20-24:
The reading Passage has ten paragraphs A-J.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-J, in boxes 20-24 on your answer sheet.

Question 20. The dangerous outcome of Escovopsis.

Answer: E
Supporting Statement: Escovopsis turns out to be highly virulent that can devastate a fungus garden in a couple of days.
Keywords: escovopsis, virulent, fungus garden, white cloud.
Keyword location: Paragraph E, lines 5-6
Explanation: Escovopsis, which may completely destroy a fungus garden in a couple of days, has been found to be exceedingly harmful, according to paragraph E. It blooms like a white cloud and blocks out the garden below. Escovopsis is a highly virulent fungus that may completely destroy a fungus garden in a matter of days. Therefore, the right answer is E.

Question 21. The disadvantage of growing a single fungus.

Answer: D
Supporting Statement: Monocultures, which lack the genetic diversity to respond to changing environmental threats, are sitting ducks for parasites.
Keywords: Monocultures, human crops, succumb, disastrous pathogens.
Keyword location: Paragraph D, lines 5-8
Explanation: According to paragraph D, Mr. Currie was likened to monocultures of various human crops. Eventually succumb to a horrible infection, like the Irish potato blight, after being extraordinarily prolific for a while. Because they lack the genetic diversity to adjust to shifting environmental dangers, monocultures are easy prey for parasites. Hence, the right answer is D.

Question 22. Comparison of features of two different nests.

Answer: C
Supporting Statement: The leaf-cutters use fresh vegetation; the other groups, known as the lower small attines because their nests are smaller and their techniques more primitive, feed their gardens with detritus like dead leaves, insects, and faces.
Keywords: fresh vegetation, nests, detritus, dead leaves.
Keyword location: Paragraph C lines 4-6
Explanation: In contrast to the other groupings, known as the lower small attines, paragraph C claims that the leaf-cutters use fresh flora. Feed their gardens with trash like dead leaves, insects, and faces, primarily because they have smaller nests and use simpler techniques. So, the correct answer is C.

Question 23. Two achievements were made by ants earlier than humans.

Answer: H
Supporting Statement: Even now, the ants are accomplishing two feats beyond the powers of human technology.
Keywords: monoculture crop, antibiotic, target pathogen.
Keyword location: Paragraph H, lines 19-23
Explanation: According to paragraph H, ants are carrying out the two tasks that are beyond the scope of human technology. Year after year, the leaf-cutters are successful in growing a monoculture crop. Contrary to people, they do not contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance in the target infection by using an antibiotic with such caution and care. Therefore, the right answer is H.

Question 24. advantage of growing a new breed of fungus.

Answer: F
Supporting Statement: There is now a possible reason to explain why the lower attine species keep changing the variety of fungus in their mushroom gardens, and occasionally domesticating new ones- to stay one step ahead of the relentless Escovopsis.
Keywords: attine species, mushroom gardens, escovopsis.
Keyword location: Paragraph F, lines 7-10
Explanation: According to paragraph F, lesser attine species would now have a plausible justification for why they routinely domesticate new fungi in their mushroom gardens. Additionally, they often switch up the types of fungi that are present there to stay one step ahead of the tenacious Escovopsis. Therefore, the right answer is F.

Questions 25-26:
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
Write your answers in boxes 25-26 on your answer sheet.

Question 25: How does the author think of Currie’s opinion?

His viewpoint was verified later.
earlier study has sufficient evidence.
no details are mentioned in the article.
his opinion was proved to be wrong.

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: People have known for a hundred years that ants have a Whitish growth on the cuticle.
Keywords: ant-fungus symbiosis, interloper
Keyword location: Paragraph H, lines 1-7
Explanation: As per paragraph H, the existence of a third partner in the ant-fungus symbiosis raises the question of how the attine ants manage to control damaging intrusion. Especially the leaf-cutters. Once more, Mr. Currie has provided the answer. People have known that ants have a white growth on their cuticles since a century ago. Therefore, the correct answer is A.

Question 26: What did scientists find on the skin of ants under the microscope?

Some white cloud mold embed in their skin
that Wax is all over their skin.
a substance that is useful to humans.
a substance that suppresses the growth of fungus.

Answer: C
Supporting Statement: Mr. Currie discovered a specialized patch on the ant’s cuticle that harbors a particular kind of bacterium, one well known to the pharmaceutical industry, because it is the source of half the antibiotics used in medicine.
Keywords: ant’s cuticle, bacterium, 22 species, streptomycin bacterium.
Keyword location: Paragraph F, lines 7-11
Explanation: In accordance with paragraph F, a certain bacterium was discovered by Mr. Currie to exist in a particular region of the ant's cuticle. It is one that the pharmaceutical industry is well aware of as the origin of 50% of the antibiotics used in medicine. Thus, the right answer is C.

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