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Chen J, Setia G, Lin LH, Sun Q, Husseneder C. Weight and protozoa number but not bacteria diversity are associated with successful pair formation of dealates in the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0293813. [PMID: 37956140 PMCID: PMC10642788 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
New colonies of Formosan subterranean termites are founded by monogamous pairs. During swarming season, alates (winged reproductives) leave their parental colony. After swarming, they drop to the ground, shed their wings, and male and female dealates find suitable nesting sites where they mate and become kings and queens of new colonies. The first generation of offspring is entirely dependent on the nutritional resources of the founder pair consisting of the fat and protein reserves of the dealates and their microbiota, which include the cellulose-digesting protozoa and diverse bacteria. Since termite kings and queens can live for decades, mate for life and colony success is linked to those initial resources, we hypothesized that gut microbiota of founders affect pair formation. To test this hypothesis, we collected pairs found in nest chambers and single male and female dealates from four swarm populations. The association of three factors (pairing status, sex of the dealates and population) with dealate weights, total protozoa, and protozoa Pseudotrichonympha grassii numbers in dealate hindguts was determined. In addition, Illumina 16S rRNA gene sequencing and the QIIME2 pipeline were used to determine the impact of those three factors on gut bacteria diversity of dealates. Here we report that pairing status was significantly affected by weight and total protozoa numbers, but not by P. grassii numbers and bacteria diversity. Weight and total protozoa numbers were higher in paired compared to single dealates. Males contained significantly higher P. grassii numbers and bacteria richness and marginally higher phylogenetic diversity despite having lower weights than females. In conclusion, this study showed that dealates with high body weight and protozoa numbers are more likely to pair and become colony founders, probably because of competitive advantage. The combined nutritional resources provided by body weight and protozoa symbionts of the parents are important for successful colony foundation and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junyan Chen
- Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, Los Angeles, United States of America
| | - Garima Setia
- Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, Los Angeles, United States of America
| | - Li-Hsiang Lin
- Department of Experimental Statistics, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, Los Angeles, United States of America
| | - Qian Sun
- Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, Los Angeles, United States of America
| | - Claudia Husseneder
- Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, Los Angeles, United States of America
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Padget RFB, Cant MA, Thompson FJ. Us, them, and the others: Testing for discrimination amongst outgroups in a single‐piece nesting termite, Zootermopsis angusticollis. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9901. [PMID: 36960235 PMCID: PMC10030232 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Recognition of group members is an important adaptation in social organisms because it allows help to be directed toward kin or individuals that are likely to reciprocate, and harm to be directed toward members of competing groups. Evidence in a wide range of animals shows that responses to outgroups vary with context, suggesting that cues to group membership also depend on the social or environmental context. In termites, intergroup encounters are frequent and their outcomes highly variable, ranging from destruction of a colony to colony fusion. As well as genetic factors, nestmate recognition in social insects commonly relies on cues that are mediated by environmental factors such as food source. However, single‐piece nesting termite colonies share nesting material and food source with rival colonies (their wood substrate serves as both). In principle, the shared environment of single‐piece nesting termite colonies could constrain their ability to identify non‐nestmates, contributing to some of the variation seen in encounters, but this has not been investigated. In this study, we raised incipient colonies of a single‐piece nesting termite, Zootermopsis angusticollis, on two different wood types and conducted behavioral assays to test whether nestmate discrimination can be constrained by common environmental conditions. We found that non‐nestmates elicited higher rates of identity checking and defense behavior compared to nestmates, but there was no effect of wood type on the strength of behavioral responses to non‐nestmates. We also found that one key cooperative behavior (allogrooming) was performed equally toward both nestmates and non‐nestmates. These findings offer no support for the hypothesis that common wood type constrains the nestmate recognition system of single piece nesting termites. We suggest that where groups encounter each other frequently in a common environment, selection will favor discrimination based on genetic and/or higher resolution environmentally mediated cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca F. B. Padget
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterCornwallUK
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Michael A. Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterCornwallUK
- German Primate CenterUniversity of GoettingenGoettingenGermany
| | - Faye J. Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterCornwallUK
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Chouvenc T. Eusociality and the transition from biparental to alloparental care in termites. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Chouvenc
- Entomology and Nematology Department, Ft Lauderdale Research and Education Center University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, 3205 College Ave, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33314 USA
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Eyer PA, Vargo EL. Short and long-term costs of inbreeding in the lifelong-partnership in a termite. Commun Biol 2022; 5:389. [PMID: 35469055 PMCID: PMC9038770 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03317-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Social life and lifelong partner commitments are expected to favor thorough partner choice, as an ill-suited partnership may have long-term consequences, adversely affecting the parents and spanning several cohorts of offspring. Here, we used ~1400 termite incipient colonies to estimate the short- and long-term costs of inbreeding upon the survival of the parents over a 15-month period, their productivity, and the resistance of their offspring toward pathogen pressure. We observed that foundation success was not influenced by the relatedness of partners, but by their levels of microbial load. We showed faster growth in inbred colonies with low levels of microbial load, revealing a potential tradeoff between pathogen defense and offspring production. Yet, inbreeding takes its toll later in colony development when offspring from incipient colonies face pathogen pressure. Although the success of a lifetime partnership is initially determined by the partner’s health, the cost of inbreeding in incipient colonies favors outbred colonies reaching maturity. Studies of termite colonies over 15 months show that inbred colonies exhibit faster initial growth with low levels of microbial load, but higher mortality toward pathogens later in colony development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-André Eyer
- Department of Entomology, 2143 TAMU, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-2143, USA.
| | - Edward L Vargo
- Department of Entomology, 2143 TAMU, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-2143, USA
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Intersection between parental investment, transgenerational immunity, and termite sociality in the face of disease: a theoretical approach. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03128-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Casillas-Pérez B, Pull CD, Naiser F, Naderlinger E, Matas J, Cremer S. Early queen infection shapes developmental dynamics and induces long-term disease protection in incipient ant colonies. Ecol Lett 2021; 25:89-100. [PMID: 34725912 PMCID: PMC9298059 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13907] [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: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Infections early in life can have enduring effects on an organism's development and immunity. In this study, we show that this equally applies to developing 'superorganisms'--incipient social insect colonies. When we exposed newly mated Lasius niger ant queens to a low pathogen dose, their colonies grew more slowly than controls before winter, but reached similar sizes afterwards. Independent of exposure, queen hibernation survival improved when the ratio of pupae to workers was small. Queens that reared fewer pupae before worker emergence exhibited lower pathogen levels, indicating that high brood rearing efforts interfere with the ability of the queen's immune system to suppress pathogen proliferation. Early-life queen pathogen exposure also improved the immunocompetence of her worker offspring, as demonstrated by challenging the workers to the same pathogen a year later. Transgenerational transfer of the queen's pathogen experience to her workforce can hence durably reduce the disease susceptibility of the whole superorganism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christopher D Pull
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Filip Naiser
- Department of Cybernetics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Jiri Matas
- Department of Cybernetics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
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Cole EL, Bayne H, Rosengaus RB. Young but not defenceless: antifungal activity during embryonic development of a social insect. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:191418. [PMID: 32968491 PMCID: PMC7481685 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Termites live in environments heavily colonized by diverse microorganisms, including pathogens. Eggs laid within the nest are likely to experience similar pathogenic pressures as those experienced by older nest-mates. Consequently, eggs may be under selective pressures to be immune-competent. Through in vitro experiments using developing embryos of the dampwood termite, Zootermopsis angusticollis, we tested the ontogeny, location and strength of their antifungal activity against the fungus, Metarhizium brunneum. Exterior washes of the chorion (extra-chorionic) and components within the chorion (intra-chorionic) were incubated with fungal conidia, which were then scored for viability. The fungistatic activity was location and developmental stage dependent. Extra-chorionic washes had relatively weak antifungal activity. Intra-chorionic homogenates were highly antifungal, exhibiting increased potency through development. The positive correlation between intra-chorionic fungistasis and developmental stage is probably due to the expression of endogenous proteins during embryogenesis. Boiling of both the extra-chorionic washes and the intra-chorionic contents rescued conidia viability, indicating the antifungal agent(s) is (are) heat-sensitive and probably proteinaceous. This study is the first to address embryonic antifungal activity in a hemimetabolous, eusocial taxon. Our results support the hypothesis that microbes have been significant agents of selection in termites, fostering the evolution of antifungal properties even in the most immature stage of development.
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Thompson FJ, Hunt KL, Wright K, Rosengaus RB, Cole EL, Birch G, Maune AL, Cant MA. Who goes there? Social surveillance as a response to intergroup conflict in a primitive termite. Biol Lett 2020. [PMCID: PMC7423038 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Intergroup conflict has been suggested as a major force shaping the evolution of social behaviour in animal groups. A long-standing hypothesis is that groups at risk of attack by rivals should become more socially cohesive, to increase resilience or protect against future attack. However, it is usually unclear how cohesive behaviours (such as grooming or social contacts) function in intergroup conflict. We performed an experiment in which we exposed young colonies of the dampwood termite,
Zootermopsis angusticollis
, to a rival colony while preventing physical combat with a permeable barrier. We measured social contacts, allogrooming and trophallaxis before, during and after exposure. Termites showed elevated rates of social contacts during exposure to a rival compared to the pre-exposure phase, but rates returned to pre-exposure levels after colonies were separated for 9 days. There was evidence of a delayed effect of conflict on worker trophallaxis. We suggest that social contacts during intergroup conflict function as a form of social surveillance, to check individual identity and assess colony resource holding potential. Intergroup conflict may increase social cohesion in both the short and the long term, improving the effectiveness of groups in competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faye J. Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Kingsley L. Hunt
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Kallum Wright
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Rebeca B. Rosengaus
- Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Erin L. Cole
- Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Graham Birch
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Avery L. Maune
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Michael A. Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
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9
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Pull CD, McMahon DP. Superorganism Immunity: A Major Transition in Immune System Evolution. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
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10
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Gut microbial pulse provides nutrition for parental provisioning in incipient termite colonies. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02843-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Meusemann K, Korb J, Schughart M, Staubach F. No Evidence for Single-Copy Immune-Gene Specific Signals of Selection in Termites. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
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