Targeted treatment of injured nestmates with antimicrobial compounds in an ant society
Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-358081
- Infected wounds pose a major mortality risk in animals. Injuries are common in the ant Megaponera analis, which raids pugnacious prey. Here we show that M. analis can determine when wounds are infected and treat them accordingly. By applying a variety of antimicrobial compounds and proteins secreted from the metapleural gland to infected wounds, workers reduce the mortality of infected individuals by 90%. Chemical analyses showed that wound infection is associated with specific changes in the cuticular hydrocarbon profile, thereby likelyInfected wounds pose a major mortality risk in animals. Injuries are common in the ant Megaponera analis, which raids pugnacious prey. Here we show that M. analis can determine when wounds are infected and treat them accordingly. By applying a variety of antimicrobial compounds and proteins secreted from the metapleural gland to infected wounds, workers reduce the mortality of infected individuals by 90%. Chemical analyses showed that wound infection is associated with specific changes in the cuticular hydrocarbon profile, thereby likely allowing nestmates to diagnose the infection state of injured individuals and apply the appropriate antimicrobial treatment. This study demonstrates that M. analis ant societies use antimicrobial compounds produced in the metapleural glands to treat infected wounds and reduce nestmate mortality.…
Author: | Erik T. Frank, Lucie Kesner, Joanito Liberti, Quentin Helleu, Adria C. LeBoeuf, Andrei Dascalu, Douglas B. Sponsler, Fumika Azuma, Evan P. Economo, Patrice Waridel, Philipp Engel, Thomas Schmitt, Laurent Keller |
---|---|
URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-358081 |
Document Type: | Journal article |
Faculties: | Medizinische Fakultät / Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften |
Language: | English |
Parent Title (English): | Nature Communications |
Year of Completion: | 2023 |
Volume: | 14 |
Article Number: | 8446 |
Source: | Nature Communications (2023) 14:8446. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43885-w |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43885-w |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie |
Tag: | animal behaviour; chemical ecology; entomology; microbial ecology; proteomics |
Release Date: | 2024/05/03 |
EU-Project number / Contract (GA) number: | 741491 |
OpenAIRE: | OpenAIRE |
Licence (German): | CC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung 4.0 International |