Behavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies
Abstract In social groups, infection risk is not distributed evenly across individuals. Individual behaviour is a key source of variation in infection risk, yet its effects are difficult to separate from other factors (e.g., age). Here, we combine epidemiological experiments with chemical, transcrip...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-08-01
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Series: | Nature Communications |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40983-7 |
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author | Zimai Li Bhoomika Bhat Erik T. Frank Thalita Oliveira-Honorato Fumika Azuma Valérie Bachmann Darren J. Parker Thomas Schmitt Evan P. Economo Yuko Ulrich |
author_facet | Zimai Li Bhoomika Bhat Erik T. Frank Thalita Oliveira-Honorato Fumika Azuma Valérie Bachmann Darren J. Parker Thomas Schmitt Evan P. Economo Yuko Ulrich |
author_sort | Zimai Li |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Abstract In social groups, infection risk is not distributed evenly across individuals. Individual behaviour is a key source of variation in infection risk, yet its effects are difficult to separate from other factors (e.g., age). Here, we combine epidemiological experiments with chemical, transcriptomic, and automated behavioural analyses in clonal ant colonies, where behavioural individuality emerges among identical workers. We find that: (1) Caenorhabditis-related nematodes parasitise ant heads and affect their survival and physiology, (2) differences in infection emerge from behavioural variation alone, and reflect spatially-organised division of labour, (3) infections affect colony social organisation by causing infected workers to stay in the nest. By disproportionately infecting some workers and shifting their spatial distribution, infections reduce division of labour and increase spatial overlap between hosts, which should facilitate parasite transmission. Thus, division of labour, a defining feature of societies, not only shapes infection risk and distribution but is also modulated by parasites. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:33:44Z |
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id | doaj.art-935337c82c1840f3bf0c07aa1cae70a0 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2041-1723 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:33:44Z |
publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
publisher | Nature Portfolio |
record_format | Article |
series | Nature Communications |
spelling | doaj.art-935337c82c1840f3bf0c07aa1cae70a02023-11-20T09:56:38ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-08-0114111010.1038/s41467-023-40983-7Behavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant coloniesZimai Li0Bhoomika Bhat1Erik T. Frank2Thalita Oliveira-Honorato3Fumika Azuma4Valérie Bachmann5Darren J. Parker6Thomas Schmitt7Evan P. Economo8Yuko Ulrich9Max Planck Institute for Chemical EcologyMax Planck Institute for Chemical EcologyDepartment of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocentre, University of WürzburgDepartment of Ecology and Evolution, University of LausanneBiodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate UniversityInstitute of Integrative Biology, ETH ZürichSchool of Natural Sciences, Bangor UniversityDepartment of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocentre, University of WürzburgBiodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate UniversityMax Planck Institute for Chemical EcologyAbstract In social groups, infection risk is not distributed evenly across individuals. Individual behaviour is a key source of variation in infection risk, yet its effects are difficult to separate from other factors (e.g., age). Here, we combine epidemiological experiments with chemical, transcriptomic, and automated behavioural analyses in clonal ant colonies, where behavioural individuality emerges among identical workers. We find that: (1) Caenorhabditis-related nematodes parasitise ant heads and affect their survival and physiology, (2) differences in infection emerge from behavioural variation alone, and reflect spatially-organised division of labour, (3) infections affect colony social organisation by causing infected workers to stay in the nest. By disproportionately infecting some workers and shifting their spatial distribution, infections reduce division of labour and increase spatial overlap between hosts, which should facilitate parasite transmission. Thus, division of labour, a defining feature of societies, not only shapes infection risk and distribution but is also modulated by parasites.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40983-7 |
spellingShingle | Zimai Li Bhoomika Bhat Erik T. Frank Thalita Oliveira-Honorato Fumika Azuma Valérie Bachmann Darren J. Parker Thomas Schmitt Evan P. Economo Yuko Ulrich Behavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies Nature Communications |
title | Behavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies |
title_full | Behavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies |
title_fullStr | Behavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies |
title_full_unstemmed | Behavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies |
title_short | Behavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies |
title_sort | behavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies |
url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40983-7 |
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