About

Cameron Currie is a professor in the Department of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Entomology. His research interests include the evolutionary ecology of the attine ant-microbe quadripartite symbiosis. He is based in the Microbial Sciences Building at 5207, 1550 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706. His contact information includes a phone number, 608-265-8034, and an email address, currie@bact.wisc.edu. The Currie Lab website provides further insights into his research focus, which centers on the complex interactions between ants and their associated microbes, emphasizing the evolutionary and ecological aspects of these symbiotic relationships.

Research topics

• Biology
• Genetics
• Computational biology
• Computer Science
• Evolutionary biology
• Ecology
• Biochemistry
• Astronomy
• Bioinformatics
• Botany
• Data science
• Pharmacology
• Stereochemistry
• Microbiology
• World Wide Web
• Zoology
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Library science

Selected publications

• Ecological Interactions Drive Metabolomic Diversification in Amazonian <i>Pseudonocardia</i> Symbionts

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-01-08

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Fungus-growing ants engage in a multipartite symbiosis, including Pseudonocardia bacteria that produce antifungal metabolites to protect their fungal cultivar from the specialized pathogen Escovopsis . While different bioactive metabolites have been reported from ant-associated Pseudonocardia , most studies have focused on a limited number of strains, leaving the extent of chemical diversity across broader ecological contexts less resolved. Here, we investigated the antagonistic potential and metabolomic repertoires of 36 Pseudonocardia strains isolated from Amazonian Paratrachymyrmex ants. Pairwise bioactivity assays against two Escovopsis isolates revealed striking variability, with inhibition generally stronger and more diverse against the pathogenic fungus originating from the same ant genus. Untargeted LC-MS/MS metabolomics coupled with 16S rRNA-based phylogenetic analyses showed that closely related strains harbored highly divergent chemical profiles, underscoring a decoupling between taxonomy and metabolite output. Detailed analyses of selected isolates revealed the production of structurally diverse metabolites, including dentigerumycin analogs, provipeptide A, β-carbolines, and tetracycline-related compounds. Co-culture analysis uncovered metabolites absent in monocultures, including lichenysins, pepstatins, and hallobacillins, as well as conserved attinimicin, whose production was enhanced under pathogen challenge. These results highlight that both strain-specific metabolic repertoires and interaction-induced chemistry contribute to the defensive arsenal of Pseudonocardia . Together, our findings likely demonstrate that ecological pressures and local adaptation, rather than phylogeny alone, drive metabolomic diversification in this defensive symbiosis. Beyond their potential for novel bioactive compound discovery, these results provide insights into the chemical basis of multipartite symbioses, the dynamics of defensive mutualisms, and the ecological forces shaping microbial diversity in underexplored environments such as the Amazon. IMPORTANCE Microbial symbionts are central to host defense and natural product discovery, yet the factors driving their chemical diversification remain unclear. The fungus-growing ant– Pseudonocardia – Escovopsis system offers a powerful model to study how ecological context shapes microbial metabolism. By systematically characterizing multiple Amazonian Pseudonocardia strains, we show that antagonistic capacity and metabolomic repertoires vary widely, even among strains with highly similar 16S rRNA gene sequences, revealing a pronounced discordance between 16S-based phylogenetic relatedness and specialized metabolite production. These findings highlight the likely importance of ecological pressures and local adaptation in shaping metabolomic output, emphasizing symbiotic actinobacteria as both key ecological players and promising sources of antifungal natural products.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Author Correction: Streptomyces produce a diphtheria toxin-like exotoxin that targets insects

  Nature Microbiology · 2026-05-14

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Bioactive Natural Products Produced by Streptomyces from the Microbiome of Cadaveric Fly Larvae

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-03-15

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Streptomyces are prolific producers of bioactive compounds and increasingly recognized as members of insect microbiomes, yet the microbiome of cadaveric fly larvae remain an overlooked system for discovering metabolically versatile Streptomyces species. Here, we conduct targeted bacterial isolations from the microbiome of fly larvae collected from pig cadavers, generating 42 Streptomyces isolates of interest, and systematically evaluated their metabolic potential through genomic analysis, antimicrobial screening, biosynthetic gene cluster assessment, untargeted LC-MS/MS metabolomics, and compound purification. The Streptomyces isolates spanned nine species, including underrepresented lineages for which we added genomic representatives. Streptomyces from carrion fly larvae exhibited broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and substantial BGC diversity, supported by metabolomic detection of antimycins, surugamides, and macrotetrolides. From a deep phylogenetic lineage, we purified JBIR-68 and Simamycin and demonstrated their potent anthelmintic activity against Brugia malayi microfilariae. GNPS molecular networking revealed three additional JBIR-68 analogs, establishing the first taxonomically resolved Streptomyces lineage capable of producing these rare metabolites. Our findings position cadaveric fly larvae as a rich ecological reservoir for discovering Streptomyces with the potential to produce chemically diverse natural products with biomedical applications.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ecological interactions drive metabolomic diversification in Amazonian <i>Pseudonocardia</i> symbionts

  mSystems · 2026-03-27

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Fungus-growing ants engage in a multipartite symbiosis, including Pseudonocardia bacteria that produce antifungal metabolites to protect their fungal cultivar from the specialized pathogen Escovopsis . While different bioactive metabolites have been reported from ant-associated Pseudonocardia , most studies have focused on a limited number of strains, leaving the extent of chemical diversity across broader ecological contexts less resolved. Here, we investigated the antagonistic potential and metabolomic repertoires of 36 Pseudonocardia strains isolated from Amazonian Paratrachymyrmex ants. Pairwise bioactivity assays against two Escovopsis isolates revealed striking variability, with inhibition generally stronger and more diverse against the pathogenic fungus originating from the same ant genus. Untargeted liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry metabolomics coupled with 16S rRNA-based phylogenetic analyses showed that closely related strains harbored highly divergent chemical profiles, underscoring a decoupling between taxonomy and metabolite output. Detailed analyses of selected isolates revealed the production of structurally diverse metabolites, including dentigerumycin analogs, provipeptide A, β-carbolines, and tetracycline-related compounds. Co-culture analysis uncovered metabolites absent in monocultures, including lichenysins, pepstatins, and hallobacillins, as well as conserved attinimicin, whose production was enhanced under pathogen challenge. These results highlight that both strain-specific metabolic repertoires and interaction-induced chemistry contribute to the defensive arsenal of Pseudonocardia . Together, our findings likely demonstrate that ecological pressures and local adaptation, rather than phylogeny alone, drive metabolomic diversification in this defensive symbiosis. Beyond their potential for novel bioactive compound discovery, these results provide understanding into the chemical basis of multipartite symbioses, the dynamics of defensive mutualisms, and the ecological forces shaping microbial diversity in underexplored environments such as the Amazon. IMPORTANCE Microbial symbionts are central to host defense and natural product discovery, yet the factors driving their chemical diversification remain unclear. The fungus-growing ant– Pseudonocardia–Escovopsis system offers a powerful model to study how ecological context shapes microbial metabolism. By systematically characterizing multiple Amazonian Pseudonocardia strains, we show that antagonistic capacity and metabolomic repertoires vary widely, even among strains with highly similar 16S rRNA gene sequences, revealing a pronounced discordance between 16S-based phylogenetic relatedness and specialized metabolite production. These findings suggest the likely importance of ecological pressures and local adaptation in shaping metabolomic output, emphasizing symbiotic actinobacteria as both key ecological players and promising sources of antifungal natural products.

  PublisherDOI

• Streptomyces produce a diphtheria toxin-like exotoxin that targets insects

  Nature Microbiology · 2026-04-30 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Streptomyces and insects engage in complex interactions shaped by millions of years of evolution. While many beneficial relationships are well recognized, it remains unknown whether Streptomyces produce virulence factors targeting insects specifically. Here, through bioinformatic analysis, we identified diphtheria toxin (DT) homologues, which we named Streptomyces antiquus insecticidal proteins (SAIP), within a monophyletic lineage of Streptomyces that emerged more than 100 million years ago. SAIP is cytotoxic to insect cells and lethal to Drosophila melanogaster, suppressing neuronal activity and immune responses in vivo. Structural and functional studies validated that SAIP is homologous to DT and acts by ADP ribosylation of eukaryotic elongation factor 2. CRISPR-Cas9 screening identified the insect protein Flower as the SAIP receptor across a range of insects. Toxigenic Streptomyces can consume dead insects and produce bioactive secondary metabolites while growing on insect carcasses. These findings establish an insecticidal toxin in Streptomyces and demonstrate that Streptomyces have evolved highly specific virulence factors against insects.

  PublisherDOI

• The antimicrobial potential from insect microbiomes of Streptomyces

  The Catalogue of Life · 2026-02-16

  datasetOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Caste- and environment-associated differential expression of olfactory receptors in pest ants

  Scientific Reports · 2025-08-24

  articleOpen access

  As human society continues to grow and evolve, so does the need for effective pest management strategies. Olfactory-mediated control methods, such as attractant and repellent compounds, are a proposed strategy for mitigating the damaging effects of some insect pests, most notably ants, that rely on olfaction for communication. To develop such compounds, it is first important to comprehensively understand the target species' olfactory transcriptome in order to guide future targeted functional characterization of relevant olfactory proteins. Here, we perform bulk RNA-seq analysis of antennae from three notable pest ant species, Camponotus floridanus, Atta sexdens, and Atta cephalotes. Specifically, we highlight the expression profiles of olfactory receptor genes, as they may serve as potential targets of future industry research and application. We find that the ant antennal transcriptome differs between each species' castes, potentially reflecting varying behaviors and tasks, and also appears to be influenced by the surrounding environment. Our findings suggest a general up-regulation of olfactory receptor genes amongst foraging castes, also demonstrating that, when comparing foraging ants from differing environments, olfactory-related genes exhibit considerable patterns of differential expression. These findings suggest variable olfactory sensitivity depending on the aforementioned factors, warranting further investigation into whether differing caste and environmental conditions may negatively influence the effectiveness of broad-range olfactory-mediated pest management strategies. Development of pest management tools that target specific groups of insects by environment or caste may lead to more effective control.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A roadmap for equitable reuse of public microbiome data

  Nature Microbiology · 2025-09-26 · 12 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Science benefits from rapid open data sharing, but current guidelines for data reuse were established two decades ago, when databases were several million times smaller than they are today. These guidelines are largely unfamiliar to the scientific community, and, owing to the rapid increase in biological data generated in the past decade, they are also outdated. As a result, there is a lack of community standards suited to the current landscape and inconsistent implementation of data sharing policies across institutions. Here we discuss current sequence data sharing policies and their benefits and drawbacks, and present a roadmap to establish guidelines for equitable sequence data reuse, developed in consultation with a data consortium of 167 microbiome scientists. We propose the use of a Data Reuse Information (DRI) tag for public sequence data, which will be associated with at least one Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) account. The machine-readable DRI tag indicates that the data creators prefer to be contacted before data reuse, and simultaneously provides data consumers with a mechanism to get in touch with the data creators. The DRI aims to facilitate and foster collaborations, and serve as a guideline that can be expanded to other data types.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Endophytic Streptomyces from honeybee hives inhibit plant and honeybee pathogens

  Frontiers in Microbiology · 2025-09-30 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Honey bees are the most common pollinator of crops worldwide. However, our reliance on honey bees to pollinate pesticide-treated monoculture crops, combined with their pest and disease susceptibility, have led honey bee populations to fluctuate in recent years. Current treatments for honey bee bacterial and fungal diseases are inadequate due to poor safety profiles and increased pathogen resistance to these treatments. There has been renewed interest in discovering natural products from actinobacteria associated with bees to use as new hive treatments; however, few studies have determined whether these microbes are truly unique to bees or part of their broader environment. We isolated actinobacteria from plant pollen and hive pollen stores and found that the isolated Streptomyces strains share many features with previously characterized endophytic Streptomyces strains. Selected Streptomyces strains were sequenced, and the genomes were used to search for phylogenetic relationships, identify genetic markers of endophytism, and compare biosynthetic gene clusters. LC-MS/MS was used to confirm the production and identities of the genetically predicted natural products. Finally, we tested the ability of the isolated actinobacteria to inhibit the growth of both plant and honey bee pathogens. Specific taxa, like Streptomyces albidoflavus and Streptomyces olivaceus , were regularly isolated from both plants and hives and produced many of the same natural products. These natural products and the Streptomyces strains that produce them may represent a starting point for antibiotics that could be used to help protect these critical pollinators.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Fungal impacts on Earth’s ecosystems

  Nature · 2025-02-05 · 79 citations

  reviewOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant RC4GM096347

  NIH · $2.5M · 2013

• Mode of Action Core

  NIH · $61.7M · 2019–2025

• NIH Grant U19AI109673

  NIH · $32.5M · 2019

• CAREER: Exploring Mutualism Stability in a Community Context

  NSF · $550k · 2008–2015

• `MO: Exploring the Symbiotic Association Between Tropical Social Insects and Actinomycetes

  NSF · $920k · 2007–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Garret Suen

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  92 shared

• Michael Poulsen

  University of Copenhagen

  91 shared

• Jon Clardy

  Harvard University

  85 shared

• Jarrod J. Scott

  Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

  79 shared

• Frank O. Aylward

  Virginia Tech

  64 shared

• Bradon R. McDonald

  45 shared

• Marc G. Chevrette

  Florida Museum of Natural History

  44 shared

• Lynne Goodwin

  Los Alamos National Laboratory

  44 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Entomology

  University of California, Berkeley

  2000

• M.S., Entomology

  University of California, Berkeley

  1996

• B.S., Entomology

  University of California, Davis

  1994