Acid, silk and grooming: alternative strategies in social immunity in ants?

Tranter, Christopher; Hughes, William O. H.

doi:10.1007/s00265-015-1980-3

Cited by 32 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…In contrast, Ohkawara and Akino (2005) showed that the ant Pheidole plagiaria reduced fungal growth on non-myrmecochorous seeds by releasing antifungal substances during seed manipulation, increasing seed germination by 60%. These secretions, usually produced by ants' metapleural glands, can help to prevent microbial infection (Tranter & Hughes, 2015). Normally, secretions from metapleural glands of leaf-cutting ants have a broad-spectrum effect against microorganisms (Fernandez-Marin et al, 2006;Yek & Mueller, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed manipulation by ants: disentangling the effects of ant behaviours on seed germination

Fernandes

Paolucci

Carmo

et al. 2018

Ecological Entomology

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1. Seed manipulation by ants can play a key role in seed germination through two main behaviours: elaiosome detachment and seed scarification. Despite the fact that these behaviours are commonplace, their effects have only been quantified independently, and their consequences on seed germination remain controversial.2. Here we experimentally investigate the effects of ant manipulation on seed germination, disentangling the contributions of these two ant behaviours to this process. To do so, under laboratory conditions, we studied the effects of seed manipulation by Acromyrmex subterraneus on germination of seeds from Mabea fistulifera, a myrmecochorous plant. We established six experimental treatments: (i) unmanipulated seeds; (ii) ant-manipulated seeds with the elaiosome detached and scarified; (iii) ant-manipulated seeds with the elaiosome detached and non-scarified; (iv) hand-manipulated seeds with the elaiosome remaining and scarified; (v) hand-manipulated seeds with the elaiosome detached and scarified; and (vi) hand-manipulated seeds with elaiosome detached and non-scarified.3. We found that both elaiosome detachment and seed scarification decreased seed germination rates. Moreover, there was no difference in germination rates whether the seeds were manipulated by researcher's hand or by ants, suggesting a lack of other ant-manipulation effects on seeds.4. The present study shows that manipulation by A. subterraneus can exert negative effects on germination of a myrmecochorous seed. Accordingly, we suggested that studies evaluating the benefits of myrmecochory for plants, based only on seed removal amount and distance, may be overestimating those benefits. Our results contribute to the understanding of the potential mechanisms influencing plant recruitment, especially for myrmecochorous plants inhabiting tropical forests.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed manipulation by ants: disentangling the effects of ant behaviours on seed germination

Fernandes

Paolucci

Carmo

et al. 2018

Ecological Entomology

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“…Whether pathogen control is mechanical or chemical, it may affect not only the ants, but also their surrounding environment. Soil from Myrmica rubra nests was less likely to infect wax moth Galleria mellonella larvae with lethal entomopathogens than soil sampled outside ant nests, as the nest soil showed reduced abundance of pathogen tissue (Schär et al ). Similar observations were found on plant pathogens.…”

Section: Mechanisms In Ant Hygienementioning

confidence: 99%

Ants suppressing plant pathogens: a review

Offenberg

Damgaard

2019

Oikos

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Ant–plant mutualisms are usually regarded as driven by ants defending plants against herbivores in return for plant‐produced food rewards and housing. However, ants may provide additional services. In a review of published studies on ant–pathogen–plant interactions, we investigated whether ants’ extensive hygiene measures, including the use of ant‐produced antibiotics, extend to their host plants and reduce plant pathogen loads. From 30 reported species combinations, we found that the presence of ants lead to reduced pathogen levels in 18 combinations and to increased levels in 6. On average, ants significantly reduced pathogen incidence with 59%. This effect size did not differ significantly from effect sizes reported from meta‐analyses on herbivore protection. Thus, pathogen and herbivore protection could be of equal importance in ant–plant mutualisms. Considering the abundance of these interactions, ecological impacts are potentially high. Furthermore, awareness of this service may stimulate the development of new measures to control plant diseases in agriculture. It should be noted, though, that studies were biased toward tropical ant–plant symbioses and that the literature in the field is limited at present. Future research on plant pathogens is needed to enhance our understanding of ant–plant mutualisms and their evolution.

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“…For example, social insects have evolved sophisticated, collective defenses against diseases that result in an emergent, group-level protection of the colony, known as social immunity (14,15). One particularly important component of social immunity is sanitary care-grooming to remove pathogens (16,17) and chemical disinfection to inhibit their growth (18,19)-that effectively reduces the risk of disease for pathogen-exposed individuals. However, this intimate behavioral interaction often also involves pathogen transmission from the contaminated individual to those performing sanitary care.…”

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confidence: 99%

Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care

Konrad

Pull

Metzler

et al. 2018

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Being cared for when sick is a benefit of sociality that can reduce disease and improve survival of group members. However, individuals providing care risk contracting infectious diseases themselves. If they contract a low pathogen dose, they may develop low-level infections that do not cause disease but still affect host immunity by either decreasing or increasing the host's vulnerability to subsequent infections. Caring for contagious individuals can thus significantly alter the future disease susceptibility of caregivers. Using ants and their fungal pathogens as a model system, we tested if the altered disease susceptibility of experienced caregivers, in turn, affects their expression of sanitary care behavior. We found that low-level infections contracted during sanitary care had protective or neutral effects on secondary exposure to the same (homologous) pathogen but consistently caused high mortality on superinfection with a different (heterologous) pathogen. In response to this risk, the ants selectively adjusted the expression of their sanitary care. Specifically, the ants performed less grooming and more antimicrobial disinfection when caring for nestmates contaminated with heterologous pathogens compared with homologous ones. By modulating the components of sanitary care in this way the ants acquired less infectious particles of the heterologous pathogens, resulting in reduced superinfection. The performance of risk-adjusted sanitary care reveals the remarkable capacity of ants to react to changes in their disease susceptibility, according to their own infection history and to flexibly adjust collective care to individual risk.

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Acid, silk and grooming: alternative strategies in social immunity in ants?

Cited by 32 publications

References 96 publications

Seed manipulation by ants: disentangling the effects of ant behaviours on seed germination

Seed manipulation by ants: disentangling the effects of ant behaviours on seed germination

Ants suppressing plant pathogens: a review

Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care

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