Venom Function of a New Species of Megalomyrmex Forel, 1885 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract

Alkaloids are important metabolites found across a variety of organisms with diverse ecological functions. Of particular interest are alkaloids found in ants, organisms well known for dominating the ecosystems they dwell in. Within ants, alkaloids are found in venom and function as potent weapons against heterospecific species. However, research is often limited to pest species or species with parasitic lifestyles and thus fails to address the broader ecological function of ant venom alkaloids. Here we describe a new species of free-living Megalomyrmex ant: Megalomyrmex peetersi sp. n. In addition, we identify its singular venom alkaloid (trans-2-butyl-5-heptylpyrrolidine) and elucidate the antibiotic and insecticidal functions of its venom. Our results show that Megalomyrmex peetersi sp. n. venom is an effective antibiotic and insecticide. These results are comparable to venom alkaloids found in other ant species, such as Solenopsis invicta. This research provides great insight into venom alkaloid function, and it is the first study to explore these ideas in the Megalomyrmex system.

Antibacterial effects of propolis and brood comb extracts on the causative agent of European Foulbrood (Melissococcus plutonius) in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

“…We determined the MIC of each treatment using a broth microdilution method modeled after the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (Cockerill et al, 2012) as in Sozanski et al (2020). Before testing the inhibitory properties of each extract dilution series, bacterial isolates were first inoculated in broth media appropriate for each bacterium (aerobic Meuller-Hinton media or anaerobic M. plutonius media) and grown overnight at 37ºC under shaking aerobic conditions ( E. coli and S. saprophyticus ) or still anaerobic conditions ( M. plutonius ).…”

“…We determined the MIC of each treatment using a broth microdilution method modeled after the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (Cockerill et al, 2012) as in Sozanski et al (2020).…”

Toxic and Immune Allergic Responses of Ant Venom Toxins: A Review

“…Due to membrane pore formation and channel binding inhibition, most of the activities of ant venom are paralytic, cytolytic, haemolytic, allergenic, pro-inflammatory, insecticidal, antimicrobial, and pain-producing in nature, while non-toxic functions include roles in chemical communication involving trail and sex pheromones, deterrents, and aggregators [53]. Within ants, alkaloids are found in venom and function as potent weapons against heterospecific species, which show membrane lytic activity [54]. Besides, this solenopsin also inhibits a group of cellular kinases and Akt selectively in an ATP-competitive manner, without affecting its upstream activator PDK1 or PI3K [54].…”

“…Within ants, alkaloids are found in venom and function as potent weapons against heterospecific species, which show membrane lytic activity [54]. Besides, this solenopsin also inhibits a group of cellular kinases and Akt selectively in an ATP-competitive manner, without affecting its upstream activator PDK1 or PI3K [54]. However, in cells, solenopsin prevented the activation of PI3K, the phosphorylation of Akt-1 at both Thr308 and Ser473, and the phosphorylation and subsequent subcellular localization of forehead box 01a (FOXO1a) [55].…”