It has now been suggested that some ant species may be sources of 'new' antibiotics to counter the development of 'superbug' bacterial strains that have developed resistance to traditional medicines (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/24/ants-solution-to-antibiotic-crisis-superbug-bacteria). It seems that some ant species (notably leaf-cutters) deliberately introduce particular bacterial species to their nests. The bacteria chosen produce powerful antibiotics that deter other species of bacteria from contaminating the nest. The hope is that clinically useful antibiotics can be developed from these cultures to which the superbugs would not have developed resistance (although the chances are that they would do so at a later time?).
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