Ant sperm storage organs do not have phenoloxidase constitutive immune activity

Dávila, Francisco; Chérasse, Sarah; Boomsma, Jacobus J.; Aron, Serge

doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2015.04.005

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Prophenoloxidase, an important regulator of the melanization immune response, was not affected by queen-mating status. This contrasts with other studies in ants (Baer et al 2006;Castella et al 2009;Dávila et al 2015), crickets (Fedorka et al 2004), damselflies (Siva-Jothy et al 1998), and mealworms (Rolff and Siva-Jothy 2002), reporting that melanization-related immune capacity decreases after mating. However, these studies all used either direct measures of enzymatic activity or of melanization capacity-not gene expression analysis.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 84%

“…Prophenoloxidase is an essential enzyme regulating insect melanization response during which melanin is deposited around wounds or pathogens (Nakhleh et al 2017). Mating induces a decrease in melanization-related immune capacity in various insects (Rolff and Siva-Jothy 2002;Fedorka et al 2004;Baer et al 2006;Castella et al 2009;Dávila et al 2015). The insect immune system also relies on antimicrobial peptides (Bulet and Stocklin 2005), among which defensin is a major and highly conserved representative (Hoffmann and Hetru 1992).…”

Section: Electronic Supplementary Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mating triggers an up-regulation of vitellogenin and defensin in ant queens

2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mating induces a range of physiological changes in female insects. In species that mate during several reproductive bouts throughout their life, mating causes an increase in oviposition, affects immune function, and decreases female lifespan and receptivity to further mating. Social Hymenoptera (ants, social bees, and wasps) are unique, since queens mate during a single reproductive effort at the beginning of their life. Their reproductive strategy is thus fundamentally different from that of other insects and one might expect the effects of mating on social Hymenoptera queens to be altered. We tested the effect of mating and multiple mating on the expression of six genes likely to be involved in post-mating changes, in queens of the ant Lasius niger L. We show that mating induces oviposition, and is followed by an up-regulation of vitellogenin and defensin expression. The expression of juvenile hormone esterase, insulin receptor 2, Cu−Zn superoxide dismutase 1, and prophenoloxidase is not significantly affected by mating. Queen-mating frequency did not affect the expression of the tested genes. Altogether, our results indicate that certain effects of mating on female insect physiology are generalized across species independent of their mating strategies, while others seem species specific.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 84%

Section: Electronic Supplementary Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mating triggers an up-regulation of vitellogenin and defensin in ant queens

2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Then, queens were fed ad libitum sugar water and meal worms. To avoid biases introduced by immune fluctuations in the days following mating [19,21,24,35], we tested the effect of immune activation on stored sperm viability two weeks after mating for incipient queens.…”

Section: Methods (A) Queen Collection and Rearingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of immune activation on stored sperm viability in ant queens

Chérasse

Aron

2018

Proc. R. Soc. B.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ant queens mate on a single occasion early in life and store millions of sperm cells in their spermatheca. By carefully using stored sperm to fertilize eggs, they can produce large colonies of thousands of individuals. Queens can live for decades and their lifetime reproductive success is dependent on their ability to keep stored sperm alive. Maintaining high sperm viability requires metabolic energy which could trade-off with other costly processes such as immunity. We tested the impact of immune activation on the survival of stored sperm by prompting Lasius niger ant queens to mount a melanization response and subsequently measuring sperm viability in their spermatheca. Since queens face different challenges that influence energy allocation depending on the life stage of their colony, we measured sperm viability after immune activation in both newly mated queens (incipient) and in queens 1 year after mating (established). We found that immune activation reduced sperm viability in established queens but not in incipient queens, showing that the cost of immunity on sperm preservation depends on the life stage. Unexpectedly, established queens had significantly higher sperm viability in their spermatheca compared to incipient queens suggesting that ant queens are able to remove dead sperm from their spermatheca.

show abstract

“…Mating down-regulates PO activity in the ant Formica paralugubris Seifert, 1996(Castella et al, 2009 and the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor (Rolff & Siva-Jothy, 2002), while mating does not affect PO activity in the field cricket Gryllus texensis Cade & Otte, 2000 (Shoemaker et al, 2006) and the yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria (Linnaeus, 1758) (Schwarzenbach et al, 2005). In the ant Atta colombica Guérin-Meneville, 1844, mating up-regulates ProPO activity, but down-regulates PO activity (Dávila et al, 2015). In the ant Lasius niger (Linnaeus, 1758), time after mating affects ProPO activity, while mating has no effect on PO activity (Dávila et al, 2015).…”

Section: Post-mating Immune Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the ant Atta colombica Guérin-Meneville, 1844, mating up-regulates ProPO activity, but down-regulates PO activity (Dávila et al, 2015). In the ant Lasius niger (Linnaeus, 1758), time after mating affects ProPO activity, while mating has no effect on PO activity (Dávila et al, 2015). In the ant Acromyrmex echinatior (Forel, 1899), mating down-regulates ProPo activity, but does not affect PO activity (Dávila et al, 2015).…”

Section: Post-mating Immune Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Does mating negatively affect female immune defences in insects?

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Immunity is an important mechanism of protection against pathogens and parasites. One factor that can influence immunity is mating. During mating, male-derived materials are transferred to females, and the physical contact also involves the potential risk of sexually transmitted infections, and wounding. Thus, mating can challenge a female’s immune system. This review focuses on exploring how immunity and mating interact in female insects. Although mating has been shown to cause female immune responses in several species, the responses do not always match the observed resistance to pathogens/parasites. Mating up-regulates female immune responses while female resistance is reduced compared to virgin females in some species, and vice versa in other taxa. We discuss why mismatches occur and why post-mating female resistance differs among species, and suggest that measured immune responses may not correlate with female resistance. Also, the mating system will play a major role. Polyandrous mating systems can generate intense post-mating sexual conflict, which can impose high costs of mating on females. Reduced female post-mating resistance may be due to direct suppression of female immunity by males. Alternatively, polyandry may increase the risk of sexually transmitted infections. If this is the major factor driving female post-mating resistance, females of polyandrous species should have higher post-mating immunity. To date, there are insufficient numbers of studies to fully answer the question ‘does mating negatively affect female immune defences in insects?’ To elucidate the links between immunity and mating in females, we need more studies in more species with varied mating systems.

show abstract

Ant sperm storage organs do not have phenoloxidase constitutive immune activity

Cited by 12 publications

References 36 publications

Mating triggers an up-regulation of vitellogenin and defensin in ant queens

Mating triggers an up-regulation of vitellogenin and defensin in ant queens

Impact of immune activation on stored sperm viability in ant queens

Does mating negatively affect female immune defences in insects?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About