Ants’ fungus agriculture traced back to dinosaur-killing impact

Various ant species cooperate with fungi, creating a home for them, providing them with nutrients, and harvesting them as food.

This reaches the peak of sophistication in the leafcutter ants, which cut foliage and return it to feed their fungi, which in turn form specialized growths that are harvested for food.

A number of genes that appear to have evolved rapidly in response to strains of fungi take part in this cooperative relationship.