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Chavarría-Pizarro L, Núñez-Montero K, Gutiérrez-Araya M, Watson-Guido W, Rivera-Méndez W, Pizarro-Cerdá J. Novel strains of Actinobacteria associated with neotropical social wasps (Vespidae; Polistinae, Epiponini) with antimicrobial potential for natural product discovery. FEMS MICROBES 2024; 5:xtae005. [PMID: 38476864 PMCID: PMC10929769 DOI: 10.1093/femsmc/xtae005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance has been considered a public health threat. The World Health Organization has warned about the urgency of detecting new antibiotics from novel sources. Social insects could be crucial in the search for new antibiotic metabolites, as some of them survive in places that favor parasite development. Recent studies have shown the potential of social insects to produce antimicrobial metabolites (e.g. ants, bees, and termites). However, most groups of social wasps remain unstudied. Here, we explored whether Actinobacteria are associated with workers in the Neotropical Social Wasps (Epiponini) of Costa Rica and evaluated their putative inhibitory activity against other bacteria. Most isolated strains (67%) have antagonistic effects, mainly against Bacillus thuringensis and Escherichia coli ATCC 25992. Based on genome analysis, some inhibitory Actinobacteria showed biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) related to the production of antimicrobial molecules such as Selvamycin, Piericidin A1, and Nystatin. The Actinobacteria could be associated with social wasps to produce antimicrobial compounds. For these reasons, we speculate that Actinobacteria associated with social wasps could be a novel source of antimicrobial compounds, mainly against Gram-negative bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Chavarría-Pizarro
- Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Biología-Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología, Calle 15, Avenida 14, 159-7050 Cartago, Costa Rica
| | - Kattia Núñez-Montero
- Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Biología-Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología, Calle 15, Avenida 14, 159-7050 Cartago, Costa Rica
- Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Avenida Alemania 1090, 4810101 Temuco, Chile
| | - Mariela Gutiérrez-Araya
- Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Biología-Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología, Calle 15, Avenida 14, 159-7050 Cartago, Costa Rica
| | - William Watson-Guido
- Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Biología-Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología, Calle 15, Avenida 14, 159-7050 Cartago, Costa Rica
| | - William Rivera-Méndez
- Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Biología-Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología, Calle 15, Avenida 14, 159-7050 Cartago, Costa Rica
| | - Javier Pizarro-Cerdá
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR6047, Yersinia Research Unit - Institut Pasteur 28, rue du Docteur Roux - 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France
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Gooding CE, Pinard C, Gries R, Devireddy A, Gries G. Blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, reduce predation risk by eavesdropping on communication signals of Formica oreas thatching ants. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231355. [PMID: 38179077 PMCID: PMC10762436 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Ticks spend most of their life inhabiting leaf litter and detritus where they are protected from sun but preyed upon by ants. Ants secrete chemical communication signals to coordinate group tasks such as nest defence. Ticks that avoid ant semiochemicals-as indicators of ant presence-would reduce predation risk by ants. We tested the hypotheses that: (i) chemical deposits from the thatching ant Formica oreas deter blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, (ii) deterrent semiochemicals originate from the ants' poison and/or Dufour's gland(s), and (iii) tick-deterrent semiochemicals serve as alarm-recruitment pheromone components in F. oreas. In two-choice olfactometer bioassays, filter paper soiled with ant chemical deposits significantly deterred female and male ticks. Poison and Dufour's gland extracts deterred ticks in combination but not alone. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analyses of gland extracts revealed formic acid as the major constituent in the poison gland and eight hydrocarbons as constituents in the Dufour's gland. Synthetic formic acid and hydrocarbons deterred ticks only when combined. F. oreas workers sprayed both formic acid and hydrocarbons when distressed. A synthetic blend of these compounds elicited alarm-recruitment responses by F. oreas in behavioural bioassays. All results combined indicate that ticks eavesdrop on the ants' communication system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire E. Gooding
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
| | - Charlotte Pinard
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
| | - Regine Gries
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
| | - Anand Devireddy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
| | - Gerhard Gries
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
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3
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Raimundo APP, Santos PPD, Cossolin JFS, Dourado LA, Bozdoğan H, Serrão JE. Morphology of the Mandibular and Intramandibular Glands of Army Ant Workers of Labidus praedator (Smith 1858) and Labidus coecus (Latreille 1802) (Formicidae: Dorylinae). NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2023; 52:1129-1137. [PMID: 37906377 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-023-01088-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Social insects are characterized by having a wide diversity of exocrine glands, with highlights for ants with about 85 glands spreading throughout the body. The mandibular and intramandibular glands are associated with the production of pheromones. The army ants (Dorylinae) play an important role in the structure of the invertebrate community because they are efficient predators and provide suitable conditions for various animals following their invasions in the food search. Labidus coecus (Latreille) is an underground-ameliorating ant and Labidus praedator (Smith) is a generalist surface predator which can deplete invertebrate biomass by up to 75%. This work investigated the morphology of the mandibular and intramandibular glands of L. praedator and L. coecus workers. The glands were analyzed by light microscopy, histochemistry, and scanning electron microscopy. The mandibular and intramandibular glands of the two species were classified as class III glands. The data on the morphology of the mandibular glands has revealed that they have characteristics in common with other subfamilies. The intramandibular glands of the two species of Labidus have similar morphology and chemical composition, which indicates that the components of these glands can have the same function despite their different habits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Hakan Bozdoğan
- Department of Plant and Animal Production, Vocational School of Technical Sciences, Kirsehir Ahi Evran University, Kirsehir, Turkey
| | - José Eduardo Serrão
- Department of General Biology, Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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4
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Lammers A, Zweers H, Sandfeld T, Bilde T, Garbeva P, Schramm A, Lalk M. Antimicrobial Compounds in the Volatilome of Social Spider Communities. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:700693. [PMID: 34504476 PMCID: PMC8422909 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.700693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Social arthropods such as termites, ants, and bees are among others the most successful animal groups on earth. However, social arthropods face an elevated risk of infections due to the dense colony structure, which facilitates pathogen transmission. An interesting hypothesis is that social arthropods are protected by chemical compounds produced by the arthropods themselves, microbial symbionts, or plants they associate with. Stegodyphus dumicola is an African social spider species, inhabiting communal silk nests. Because of the complex three-dimensional structure of the spider nest antimicrobial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a promising protection against pathogens, because of their ability to diffuse through air-filled pores. We analyzed the volatilomes of S. dumicola, their nests, and capture webs in three locations in Namibia and assessed their antimicrobial potential. Volatilomes were collected using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) tubes and analyzed using GC/Q-TOF. We showed the presence of 199 VOCs and tentatively identified 53 VOCs. More than 40% of the tentatively identified VOCs are known for their antimicrobial activity. Here, six VOCs were confirmed by analyzing pure compounds namely acetophenone, 1,3-benzothiazole, 1-decanal, 2-decanone, 1-tetradecene, and docosane and for five of these compounds the antimicrobial activity were proven. The nest and web volatilomes had many VOCs in common, whereas the spider volatilomes were more differentiated. Clear differences were identified between the volatilomes from the different sampling sites which is likely justified by differences in the microbiomes of the spiders and nests, the plants, and the different climatic conditions. The results indicate the potential relevance of the volatilomes for the ecological success of S. dumicola.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Lammers
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry and Metabolomics, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.,Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Hans Zweers
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Tobias Sandfeld
- Section for Microbiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Trine Bilde
- Section for Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Paolina Garbeva
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Andreas Schramm
- Section for Microbiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Michael Lalk
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry and Metabolomics, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
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Mizutani H, Tagai K, Habe S, Takaku Y, Uebi T, Kimura T, Hariyama T, Ozaki M. Antenna Cleaning Is Essential for Precise Behavioral Response to Alarm Pheromone and Nestmate-Non-Nestmate Discrimination in Japanese Carpenter Ants ( Camponotus japonicus). INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12090773. [PMID: 34564213 PMCID: PMC8471180 DOI: 10.3390/insects12090773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Grooming is a common behavior in animals. It serves the function of removing foreign materials and excessive amounts of self-secreted materials from the body’s surface. Social insects, such as honeybees or ants, use various types of pheromones, some of which propagate information about the environment to conspecific individuals, for chemical communication. The individuals that receive such information can respond with suitable behaviors to protect themselves and their society. Hence, grooming is important for the maintenance of the correct performance of their sensory organs on antennae for pheromone perception. Here, we experimentally limited self-grooming of the antennae in workers of the Japanese carpenter ant (Camponotus japonicus) by removing a pair of antennal cleaning apparatuses from the forelegs and investigated their behavioral change in response to exposure to the alarm pheromone or to encounters with nestmates or non-nestmates. Comparisons between self-grooming-nonlimited and self-grooming-limited ants showed that the self-grooming-limited ants gradually exhibited decreased locomotion activity in their fight-or-flight response to the alarm pheromone and experienced increased failure in nestmate and non-nestmate discrimination. Thus, the results of the present study suggest that antennal sensory system maintenance supports social communication, which is indispensable not only to the individual workers but also to the survival of their society. Abstract Self-grooming of the antennae is frequently observed in ants. This antennal maintenance behavior is presumed to be essential for effective chemical communication but, to our knowledge, this has not yet been well studied. When we removed the antenna-cleaning apparatuses of the Japanese carpenter ant (C. japonicus) to limit the self-grooming of the antennae, the worker ants demonstrated the self-grooming gesture as usual, but the antennal surface could not be sufficiently cleaned. By using scanning electron microscopy with NanoSuit, we observed the ants’ antennae for up to 48 h and found that the antennal surfaces gradually became covered with self-secreted surface material. Concurrently, the self-grooming-limited workers gradually lost their behavioral responsiveness to undecane—the alarm pheromone. Indeed, their locomotive response to the alarm pheromone diminished for up to 24 h after the antenna cleaner removal operation. In addition, the self-grooming-limited workers exhibited less frequent aggressive behavior toward non-nestmate workers, and 36 h after the operation, approximately half of the encountered non-nestmate workers were accepted as nestmates. These results suggest that the antennal sensing system is affected by excess surface material; hence, their proper function is prevented until they are cleaned.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hitomi Mizutani
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kobe University, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan;
| | - Kazuhiro Tagai
- School of Human Science and Environment, University of Hyogo, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0092, Japan; (K.T.); (T.K.)
| | - Shunya Habe
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto 616-8354, Japan;
| | - Yasuharu Takaku
- Preeminent Medical Photonics Education and Research Center, Institute for NanoSuit Research & NanoSuit Inc., Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan; (Y.T.); (T.H.)
| | - Tatsuya Uebi
- KYOUSEI Science Center for Life and Nature, Nara Women’s University, Nara 630-8263, Japan;
| | - Toshifumi Kimura
- School of Human Science and Environment, University of Hyogo, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0092, Japan; (K.T.); (T.K.)
| | - Takahiko Hariyama
- Preeminent Medical Photonics Education and Research Center, Institute for NanoSuit Research & NanoSuit Inc., Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan; (Y.T.); (T.H.)
| | - Mamiko Ozaki
- KYOUSEI Science Center for Life and Nature, Nara Women’s University, Nara 630-8263, Japan;
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
- Morphogenetic Signaling Team, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-742-20-3687
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6
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Halawani O, Dunn RR, Grunden AM, Smith AA. Bacterial exposure leads to variable mortality but not a measurable increase in surface antimicrobials across ant species. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10412. [PMID: 33344078 PMCID: PMC7719289 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Social insects have co-existed with microbial species for millions of years and have evolved a diversity of collective defenses, including the use of antimicrobials. While many studies have revealed strategies that ants use against microbial entomopathogens, and several have shown ant-produced compounds inhibit environmental bacterial growth, few studies have tested whether exposure to environmental bacteria represents a health threat to ants. We compare four ant species’ responses to exposure to Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria in order to broaden our understanding of microbial health-threats to ants and their ability to defend against them. In a first experiment, we measure worker mortality of Solenopsis invicta, Brachymyrmex chinensis, Aphaenogaster rudis, and Dorymyrmex bureni in response to exposure to E. coli and S. epidermidis. We found that exposure to E. coli was lethal for S. invicta and D. bureni, while all other effects of exposure were not different from experimental controls. In a second experiment, we compared the antimicrobial ability of surface extracts from bacteria-exposed and non-exposed S. invicta and B. chinensis worker ants, to see if exposure to E. coli or S. epidermidis led to an increase in antimicrobial compounds. We found no difference in the inhibitory effects from either treatment group in either species. Our results demonstrate the susceptibility to bacteria is varied across ant species. This variation may correlate with an ant species’ use of surface antimicrobials, as we found significant mortality effects in species which also were producing antimicrobials. Further exploration of a wide range of both bacteria and ant species is likely to reveal unique and nuanced antimicrobial strategies and deepen our understanding of how ant societies respond to microbial health threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar Halawani
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Robert R Dunn
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Amy M Grunden
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Adrian A Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.,Research & Collections, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, USA
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Imirzian N, Araújo JP, Hughes DP. A new zombie ant behavior unraveled: Aggregating on tree trunks. J Invertebr Pathol 2020; 177:107499. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2020.107499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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8
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Goes AC, Barcoto MO, Kooij PW, Bueno OC, Rodrigues A. How Do Leaf-Cutting Ants Recognize Antagonistic Microbes in Their Fungal Crops? Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
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9
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Affiliation(s)
- Joachim Offenberg
- Dept of Bioscience, Aarhus Univ. Vejlsøvej 25, DK‐8600 Silkeborg Aarhus 8000 Denmark
| | - Christian Damgaard
- Dept of Bioscience, Aarhus Univ. Vejlsøvej 25, DK‐8600 Silkeborg Aarhus 8000 Denmark
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10
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Turner J, Hughes WOH. The effect of parasitism on personality in a social insect. Behav Processes 2018; 157:532-539. [PMID: 29898416 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Revised: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Individuals are known to differ consistently in various aspects of their behaviour in many animal species, a phenomenon that has come to be referred to as animal personalities. These individual differences are likely to have evolutionary and ecological significance, and it is therefore important to understand the precise nature of how environmental and physiological factors affect animal personalities. One factor which may affect personality is disease, but while the effects of disease on many aspects of host behaviour are well known, the effects on animal personalities have been little studied. Here we show that wood ants, Formica rufa, exhibit consistent individual differences in three personality traits: boldness, sociability and aggressiveness. However, experimental exposure to a virulent fungal parasite, Metarhizium pingshaense, had surprisingly little effect on the personality traits. Parasite-challenged ants showed marginal changes in sociability at high doses of parasite but no change in boldness or aggressiveness even when close to death. There was similarly little effect of other physiological stresses on ant personalities. The results suggest that individual personality in ants can be remarkably resilient to physiological stress, such as that caused by parasite infection. Future studies are needed to determine whether there is a similar resilience in solitary animals, as well as in other social species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joe Turner
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK.
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11
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Pull CD, Ugelvig LV, Wiesenhofer F, Grasse AV, Tragust S, Schmitt T, Brown MJF, Cremer S. Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies. eLife 2018; 7:e32073. [PMID: 29310753 PMCID: PMC5760203 DOI: 10.7554/elife.32073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
In social groups, infections have the potential to spread rapidly and cause disease outbreaks. Here, we show that in a social insect, the ant Lasius neglectus, the negative consequences of fungal infections (Metarhizium brunneum) can be mitigated by employing an efficient multicomponent behaviour, termed destructive disinfection, which prevents further spread of the disease through the colony. Ants specifically target infected pupae during the pathogen's non-contagious incubation period, utilising chemical 'sickness cues' emitted by pupae. They then remove the pupal cocoon, perforate its cuticle and administer antimicrobial poison, which enters the body and prevents pathogen replication from the inside out. Like the immune system of a metazoan body that specifically targets and eliminates infected cells, ants destroy infected brood to stop the pathogen completing its lifecycle, thus protecting the rest of the colony. Hence, in an analogous fashion, the same principles of disease defence apply at different levels of biological organisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher D Pull
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
| | - Line V Ugelvig
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
| | - Florian Wiesenhofer
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
| | - Anna V Grasse
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
| | - Simon Tragust
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
- Evolution, Genetics and BehaviourUniversity of RegensburgRegensburgGermany
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Mark JF Brown
- School of Biological SciencesRoyal Holloway University of LondonEghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
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12
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Cremer S, Pull CD, Fürst MA. Social Immunity: Emergence and Evolution of Colony-Level Disease Protection. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2018; 63:105-123. [PMID: 28945976 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 150] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Social insect colonies have evolved many collectively performed adaptations that reduce the impact of infectious disease and that are expected to maximize their fitness. This colony-level protection is termed social immunity, and it enhances the health and survival of the colony. In this review, we address how social immunity emerges from its mechanistic components to produce colony-level disease avoidance, resistance, and tolerance. To understand the evolutionary causes and consequences of social immunity, we highlight the need for studies that evaluate the effects of social immunity on colony fitness. We discuss the roles that host life history and ecology have on predicted eco-evolutionary dynamics, which differ among the social insect lineages. Throughout the review, we highlight current gaps in our knowledge and promising avenues for future research, which we hope will bring us closer to an integrated understanding of socio-eco-evo-immunology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia Cremer
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria; ,
| | - Christopher D Pull
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria; ,
- Current affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom;
| | - Matthias A Fürst
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria; ,
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13
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López-Uribe MM, Fitzgerald A, Simone-Finstrom M. Inducible versus constitutive social immunity: examining effects of colony infection on glucose oxidase and defensin-1 production in honeybees. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:170224. [PMID: 28573033 PMCID: PMC5451834 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2017] [Accepted: 05/04/2017] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Honeybees use a variety of defence mechanisms to reduce disease infection and spread throughout the colony. Many of these defences rely on the collective action of multiple individuals to prevent, reduce or eradicate pathogens-often referred to as 'social immunity'. Glucose oxidase (GOX) and some antimicrobial peptides (e.g. defensin-1 or Def1) are secreted by the hypopharyngeal gland of adult bees on larval food for their antiseptic properties. Because workers secrete these compounds to protect larvae, they have been used as 'biomarkers' for social immunity. The aim of this study was to investigate if GOX and Def1 are induced after pathogen exposure to determine whether its production by workers is the result of a collective effort to protect the brood and colony in response to a pathogen challenge. Specifically, we quantified GOX and Def1 in honeybee adults before and after colony-level bacterial infection by American foulbrood ((AFB), Paenibacillus larvae). Overall, our results indicate that levels of GOX and Def1 are not induced in response to pathogenic infections. We therefore conclude that GOX and Def1 are highly constitutive and co-opted as mechanisms of social immunity, and these factors should be considered when investigating immunity at the individual and colony level in social insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margarita M. López-Uribe
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Andrea Fitzgerald
- Department of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Michael Simone-Finstrom
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
- Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Baton Rouge, LA 70820, USA
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14
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Ramalho MO, Bueno OC, Moreau CS. Microbial composition of spiny ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Polyrhachis) across their geographic range. BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:96. [PMID: 28381207 PMCID: PMC5382451 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-0945-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 03/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Symbiotic relationships between insects and bacteria are found across almost all insect orders, including Hymenoptera. However there are still many remaining questions about these associations including what factors drive host-associated bacterial composition. To better understand the evolutionary significance of this association in nature, further studies addressing a diversity of hosts across locations and evolutionary history are necessary. Ants of the genus Polyrhachis (spiny ants) are distributed across the Old World and exhibit generalist diets and habits. Using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics tools, this study explores the microbial community of >80 species of Polyrhachis distributed across the Old World and compares the microbiota of samples and related hosts across different biogeographic locations and in the context of their phylogenetic history. Results The predominant bacteria across samples were Enterobacteriaceae (Blochmannia - with likely many new strains), followed by Wolbachia (with multiple strains), Lactobacillus, Thiotrichaceae, Acinetobacter, Nocardia, Sodalis, and others. We recovered some exclusive strains of Enterobacteriaceae as specific to some subgenera of Polyrhachis, corroborating the idea of coevolution between host and bacteria for this bacterial group. Our correlation results (partial mantel and mantel tests) found that host phylogeny can influence the overall bacterial community, but that geographic location had no effect. Conclusions Our work is revealing important aspects of the biology of hosts in structuring the diversity and abundance of these host-associated bacterial communities including the role of host phylogeny and shared evolutionary history. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0945-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Oliveira Ramalho
- Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" UNESP - Campus Rio Claro, Biologia, CEIS. Av. 24A, 1515, Bela Vista, Rio Claro, SP, 13506-900, Brazil. .,Field Museum of Natural History, Department of Science and Education, Integrative Research Center, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA.
| | - Odair Correa Bueno
- Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" UNESP - Campus Rio Claro, Biologia, CEIS. Av. 24A, 1515, Bela Vista, Rio Claro, SP, 13506-900, Brazil
| | - Corrie Saux Moreau
- Field Museum of Natural History, Department of Science and Education, Integrative Research Center, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA
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16
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Brütsch T, Jaffuel G, Vallat A, Turlings TCJ, Chapuisat M. Wood ants produce a potent antimicrobial agent by applying formic acid on tree-collected resin. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:2249-2254. [PMID: 28405288 PMCID: PMC5383563 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Revised: 01/06/2017] [Accepted: 01/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Wood ants fight pathogens by incorporating tree resin with antimicrobial properties into their nests. They also produce large quantities of formic acid in their venom gland, which they readily spray to defend or disinfect their nest. Mixing chemicals to produce powerful antibiotics is common practice in human medicine, yet evidence for the use of such "defensive cocktails" by animals remains scant. Here, we test the hypothesis that wood ants enhance the antifungal activity of tree resin by treating it with formic acid. In a series of experiments, we document that (i) tree resin had much higher inhibitory activity against the common entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum after having been in contact with ants, while no such effect was detected for other nest materials; (ii) wood ants applied significant amounts of endogenous formic and succinic acid on resin and other nest materials; and (iii) the application of synthetic formic acid greatly increased the antifungal activity of resin, but had no such effect when applied to inert glass material. Together, these results demonstrate that wood ants obtain an effective protection against a detrimental microorganism by mixing endogenous and plant-acquired chemical defenses. In conclusion, the ability to synergistically combine antimicrobial substances of diverse origins is not restricted to humans and may play an important role in insect societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothée Brütsch
- Department of Ecology and Evolution University of Lausanne Biophore, UNIL-Sorge Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Geoffrey Jaffuel
- Department of Ecology and Evolution University of Lausanne Biophore, UNIL-Sorge Lausanne Switzerland; FARCE Institute of Biology University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Switzerland
| | - Armelle Vallat
- Institute of Chemistry NPAC University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Switzerland
| | - Ted C J Turlings
- FARCE Institute of Biology University of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Switzerland
| | - Michel Chapuisat
- Department of Ecology and Evolution University of Lausanne Biophore, UNIL-Sorge Lausanne Switzerland
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Loreto RG, Hughes DP. Disease in the Society: Infectious Cadavers Result in Collapse of Ant Sub-Colonies. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0160820. [PMID: 27529548 PMCID: PMC4986943 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2016] [Accepted: 07/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the growing number of experimental studies on mechanisms of social immunity in ant societies, little is known about how social behavior relates to disease progression within the nests of ants. In fact, when empirically studying disease in ant societies, it is common to remove dead ants from experiments to confirm infection by the studied parasite. This unfortunately does not allow disease to progress within the nest as it may be assumed would happen under natural conditions. Therefore, the approach taken so far has resulted in a limited knowledge of diseases dynamics within the nest environment. Here we introduced a single infectious cadaver killed by the fungus Beauveria bassiana into small nests of the ant Camponotus castaneus. We then observed the natural progression of the disease by not removing the corpses of the ants that died following the first entry of the disease. Because some behaviors such as social isolation of sick individuals or the removal of cadavers by nestmates are considered social immune functions and thus adaptations at the colony level that reduce disease spread, we also experimentally confined some sub-colonies to one or two chamber nests to prevent the expression of such behaviors. Based on 51 small nests and survival studies in 1,003 ants we found that a single introduced infectious cadaver was able to transmit within the nest, and social immunity did not prevent the collapse of the small sub-colonies here tested. This was true whether ants did or did not have the option to remove the infectious cadaver. Therefore, we found no evidence that the typically studied social immunity behaviors can reduce disease spread in the conditions here tested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel G. Loreto
- Department of Entomology and Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802 Pennsylvania, United States of America
- CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasília 70040–020 DF, Brazil
| | - David P. Hughes
- Department of Entomology and Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802 Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802 Pennsylvania, United States of America
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Tranter C, Fernández‐Marín H, Hughes WOH. Quality and quantity: transitions in antimicrobial gland use for parasite defense. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:5857-68. [PMID: 26811760 PMCID: PMC4717345 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2015] [Revised: 10/09/2015] [Accepted: 10/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasites are a major force in evolution, and understanding how host life history affects parasite pressure and investment in disease resistance is a general problem in evolutionary biology. The threat of disease may be especially strong in social animals, and ants have evolved the unique metapleural gland (MG), which in many taxa produce antimicrobial compounds that have been argued to have been a key to their ecological success. However, the importance of the MG in the disease resistance of individual ants across ant taxa has not been examined directly. We investigate experimentally the importance of the MG for disease resistance in the fungus-growing ants, a group in which there is interspecific variation in MG size and which has distinct transitions in life history. We find that more derived taxa rely more on the MG for disease resistance than more basal taxa and that there are a series of evolutionary transitions in the quality, quantity, and usage of the MG secretions, which correlate with transitions in life history. These shifts show how even small clades can exhibit substantial transitions in disease resistance investment, demonstrating that host-parasite relationships can be very dynamic and that targeted experimental, as well as large-scale, comparative studies can be valuable for identifying evolutionary transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hermógenes Fernández‐Marín
- Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta TecnologíaEdificio 219, Panamá 5Ciudad del SaberClaytonPanama CityPO Box 0843‐01105Republic of Panama
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Tranter C, Hughes WOH. A preliminary study of nest structure and composition of the weaver antPolyrhachis(Cyrtomyrma)delecta(Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J NAT HIST 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2015.1103912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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21
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The fungistatic and fungicidal effects of volatiles from metathoracic glands of soybean-attacking stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) on the entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana. J Invertebr Pathol 2015; 132:77-85. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2015.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2015] [Revised: 08/25/2015] [Accepted: 08/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Theis FJ, Ugelvig LV, Marr C, Cremer S. Opposing effects of allogrooming on disease transmission in ant societies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2015; 370:20140108. [PMID: 25870394 PMCID: PMC4410374 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
To prevent epidemics, insect societies have evolved collective disease defences that are highly effective at curing exposed individuals and limiting disease transmission to healthy group members. Grooming is an important sanitary behaviour--either performed towards oneself (self-grooming) or towards others (allogrooming)--to remove infectious agents from the body surface of exposed individuals, but at the risk of disease contraction by the groomer. We use garden ants (Lasius neglectus) and the fungal pathogen Metarhizium as a model system to study how pathogen presence affects self-grooming and allogrooming between exposed and healthy individuals. We develop an epidemiological SIS model to explore how experimentally observed grooming patterns affect disease spread within the colony, thereby providing a direct link between the expression and direction of sanitary behaviours, and their effects on colony-level epidemiology. We find that fungus-exposed ants increase self-grooming, while simultaneously decreasing allogrooming. This behavioural modulation seems universally adaptive and is predicted to contain disease spread in a great variety of host-pathogen systems. In contrast, allogrooming directed towards pathogen-exposed individuals might both increase and decrease disease risk. Our model reveals that the effect of allogrooming depends on the balance between pathogen infectiousness and efficiency of social host defences, which are likely to vary across host-pathogen systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian J Theis
- Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Computational Biology, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, Neuherberg 85764, Germany Technische Universität München, Center for Mathematics, Chair of Mathematical Modeling of Biological Systems, Boltzmannstraße 3, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Line V Ugelvig
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria
| | - Carsten Marr
- Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Computational Biology, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, Neuherberg 85764, Germany
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria
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Ho EKH, Frederickson ME. Alate susceptibility in ants. Ecol Evol 2014; 4:4209-19. [PMID: 25540683 PMCID: PMC4267860 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2014] [Accepted: 09/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogens are predicted to pose a particular threat to eusocial insects because infections can spread rapidly in colonies with high densities of closely related individuals. In ants, there are two major castes: workers and reproductives. Sterile workers receive no direct benefit from investing in immunity, but can gain indirect fitness benefits if their immunity aids the survival of their fertile siblings. Virgin reproductives (alates), on the other hand, may be able to increase their investment in reproduction, rather than in immunity, because of the protection they receive from workers. Thus, we expect colonies to have highly immune workers, but relatively more susceptible alates. We examined the survival of workers, gynes, and males of nine ant species collected in Peru and Canada when exposed to the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. For the seven species in which treatment with B. bassiana increased ant mortality relative to controls, we found workers were significantly less susceptible compared with both alate sexes. Female and male alates did not differ significantly in their immunocompetence. Our results suggest that, as with other nonreproductive tasks in ant colonies like foraging and nest maintenance, workers have primary responsibility for colony immunity, allowing alates to specialize on reproduction. We highlight the importance of colony-level selection on individual immunity in ants and other eusocial organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eddie K H Ho
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Megan E Frederickson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto 25 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G5, Canada
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25
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Tranter C, LeFevre L, Evison SE, Hughes WO. Threat detection: contextual recognition and response to parasites by ants. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Otti O, Tragust S, Feldhaar H. Unifying external and internal immune defences. Trends Ecol Evol 2014; 29:625-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2014] [Revised: 08/28/2014] [Accepted: 09/09/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Grooming behavior in American cockroach is affected by novelty and odor. ScientificWorldJournal 2014; 2014:329514. [PMID: 25401135 PMCID: PMC4221865 DOI: 10.1155/2014/329514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2014] [Revised: 09/12/2014] [Accepted: 09/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The main features of grooming behavior are amazingly similar among arthropods and land vertebrates and serve the same needs. A particular pattern of cleaning movements in cockroaches shows cephalo-caudal progression. Grooming sequences become longer after adaptation to the new setting. Novelty related changes in grooming are recognized as a form of displacement behavior. Statistical analysis of behavior revealed that antennal grooming in American cockroach, Periplaneta americana L., was significantly enhanced in the presence of odor.
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Purcell J, Chapuisat M. Foster carers influence brood pathogen resistance in ants. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20141338. [PMID: 25143036 PMCID: PMC4150324 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2014] [Accepted: 07/28/2014] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Social organisms face a high risk of epidemics, and respond to this threat by combining efficient individual and collective defences against pathogens. An intriguing and little studied feature of social animals is that individual pathogen resistance may depend not only on genetic or maternal factors, but also on the social environment during development. Here, we used a cross-fostering experiment to investigate whether the pathogen resistance of individual ant workers was shaped by their own colony of origin or by the colony of origin of their carers. The origin of care-giving workers significantly influenced the ability of newly eclosed cross-fostered Formica selysi workers to resist the fungal entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana. In particular, carers that were more resistant to the fungal entomopathogen reared more resistant workers. This effect occurred in the absence of post-infection social interactions, such as trophallaxis and allogrooming. The colony of origin of eggs significantly influenced the survival of the resulting individuals in both control and pathogen treatments. There was no significant effect of the social organization (i.e. whether colonies contain a single or multiple queens) of the colony of origin of either carers or eggs. Our experiment reveals that social interactions during development play a central role in moulding the resistance of emerging workers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Purcell
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Biophore, UNIL-Sorge, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Michel Chapuisat
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Biophore, UNIL-Sorge, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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29
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Masri L, Cremer S. Individual and social immunisation in insects. Trends Immunol 2014; 35:471-82. [DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2014.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2014] [Revised: 08/18/2014] [Accepted: 08/18/2014] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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Increased grooming after repeated brood care provides sanitary benefits in a clonal ant. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1778-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Kay AD, Bruning AJ, van Alst A, Abrahamson TT, Hughes WOH, Kaspari M. A carbohydrate-rich diet increases social immunity in ants. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20132374. [PMID: 24430844 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.2374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Increased potential for disease transmission among nest-mates means living in groups has inherent costs. This increased potential is predicted to select for disease resistance mechanisms that are enhanced by cooperative exchanges among group members, a phenomenon known as social immunity. One potential mediator of social immunity is diet nutritional balance because traits underlying immunity can require different nutritional mixtures. Here, we show how dietary protein-carbohydrate balance affects social immunity in ants. When challenged with a parasitic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae, workers reared on a high-carbohydrate diet survived approximately 2.8× longer in worker groups than in solitary conditions, whereas workers reared on an isocaloric, high-protein diet survived only approximately 1.3× longer in worker groups versus solitary conditions. Nutrition had little effect on social grooming, a potential mechanism for social immunity. However, experimentally blocking metapleural glands, which secrete antibiotics, completely eliminated effects of social grouping and nutrition on immunity, suggesting a causal role for secretion exchange. A carbohydrate-rich diet also reduced worker mortality rates when whole colonies were challenged with Metarhizium. These results provide a novel mechanism by which carbohydrate exploitation could contribute to the ecological dominance of ants and other social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam D Kay
- Department of Biology, University of St. Thomas, , St. Paul, MN, USA, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, , Brighton, UK, Graduate Program in EEB, Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, , Norman, OK, USA, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, , Balboa, Republic of Panama
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Sanitizing the fortress: protection of ant brood and nest material by worker antibiotics. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1664-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Pull CD, Hughes WOH, Brown MJF. Tolerating an infection: an indirect benefit of co-founding queen associations in the ant Lasius niger. Naturwissenschaften 2013; 100:1125-36. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-013-1115-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2013] [Revised: 10/22/2013] [Accepted: 10/25/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Grooming Behavior as a Mechanism of Insect Disease Defense. INSECTS 2013; 4:609-30. [PMID: 26462526 PMCID: PMC4553506 DOI: 10.3390/insects4040609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2013] [Revised: 10/20/2013] [Accepted: 10/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Grooming is a well-recognized, multipurpose, behavior in arthropods and vertebrates. In this paper, we review the literature to highlight the physical function, neurophysiological mechanisms, and role that grooming plays in insect defense against pathogenic infection. The intricate relationships between the physical, neurological and immunological mechanisms of grooming are discussed to illustrate the importance of this behavior when examining the ecology of insect-pathogen interactions.
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Tragust S, Ugelvig LV, Chapuisat M, Heinze J, Cremer S. Pupal cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in ant colonies. BMC Evol Biol 2013; 13:225. [PMID: 24125481 PMCID: PMC3854126 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2013] [Accepted: 08/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The brood of ants and other social insects is highly susceptible to pathogens, particularly those that penetrate the soft larval and pupal cuticle. We here test whether the presence of a pupal cocoon, which occurs in some ant species but not in others, affects the sanitary brood care and fungal infection patterns after exposure to the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum. We use a) a comparative approach analysing four species with either naked or cocooned pupae and b) a within-species analysis of a single ant species, in which both pupal types co-exist in the same colony. RESULTS We found that the presence of a cocoon did not compromise fungal pathogen detection by the ants and that species with cocooned pupae increased brood grooming after pathogen exposure. All tested ant species further removed brood from their nests, which was predominantly expressed towards larvae and naked pupae treated with the live fungal pathogen. In contrast, cocooned pupae exposed to live fungus were not removed at higher rates than cocooned pupae exposed to dead fungus or a sham control. Consistent with this, exposure to the live fungus caused high numbers of infections and fungal outgrowth in larvae and naked pupae, but not in cocooned pupae. Moreover, the ants consistently removed the brood prior to fungal outgrowth, ensuring a clean brood chamber. CONCLUSION Our study suggests that the pupal cocoon has a protective effect against fungal infection, causing an adaptive change in sanitary behaviours by the ants. It further demonstrates that brood removal-originally described for honeybees as "hygienic behaviour"-is a widespread sanitary behaviour in ants, which likely has important implications on disease dynamics in social insect colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Tragust
- Evolutionary Biology, IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
- Evolution, Behaviour and Genetics, Biology I, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93040 Regensburg, Germany
- Animal Ecology I, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Line V Ugelvig
- Evolutionary Biology, IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
- Evolution, Behaviour and Genetics, Biology I, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93040 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Michel Chapuisat
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, UNIL-Sorge, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jürgen Heinze
- Evolution, Behaviour and Genetics, Biology I, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93040 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- Evolutionary Biology, IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
- Evolution, Behaviour and Genetics, Biology I, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93040 Regensburg, Germany
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Tragust S, Mitteregger B, Barone V, Konrad M, Ugelvig LV, Cremer S. Ants Disinfect Fungus-Exposed Brood by Oral Uptake and Spread of Their Poison. Curr Biol 2013; 23:76-82. [PMID: 23246409 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2012] [Revised: 10/22/2012] [Accepted: 11/16/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Simon Tragust
- Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.
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Chemical Composition of Metapleural Gland Secretions of Fungus-Growing and Non-fungus-growing Ants. J Chem Ecol 2012; 38:1289-97. [DOI: 10.1007/s10886-012-0185-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2012] [Revised: 08/13/2012] [Accepted: 08/26/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Baracchi D, Mazza G, Turillazzi S. From individual to collective immunity: the role of the venom as antimicrobial agent in the Stenogastrinae wasp societies. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2012; 58:188-193. [PMID: 22108024 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2011.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2011] [Revised: 11/04/2011] [Accepted: 11/08/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Sociality is associated with an increased risk of disease transmission and one of the first defense of the insect colonies is represented by antimicrobial secretions. In many eusocial hymenopteran species venom glands represent one of the most important source of antimicrobial substances. It is known that in highly eusocial species the venom is spread on both the cuticle of insects and the comb, thus becoming a component of the so called "social immunity". So far, it is never been ascertained whether this phenomenon is also present in more primitively eusocial and incipiently eusocial groups. Using incipiently eusocial hover wasps as model, we demonstrate that venom is present on insect cuticles and that it strongly acts against microorganisms. By contrast, the nest, regardless of materials, does not represent a ''medium" where the venom is deposited by wasps in order to act as a social antiseptic weapon. Our findings discussed in an evolutionary perspective indicate that a certain degree of sociality or a sufficient number of individuals in an insect society are thresholds to be reached for the rise of complex and efficient forms of collective and social immunity as mechanisms of resistance to diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Baracchi
- Università degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica Leo Pardi, Via Romana 17, 50125 Firenze, Italy.
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