The scent of symbiosis : gut bacteria may affect social interactions in leaf-cutting ants
Animal gut microbiota affect host physiology and behaviour. In social insects, where colony level integrity is preserved via a nestmate discrimination system based on cuticular hydrocarbon mixtures, microorganismal effects may therefore influence social dynamics. Although nestmate recognition has un...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2020
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/144702 |
| _version_ | 1811689818168492032 |
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| author | Teseo, Serafino van Zweden, Jelle S. Pontieri, Luigi Kooij, Pepijn W. Sørensen, Søren J. Wenseleers, Tom Poulsen, Michael Boomsma, Jacobus J. Sapountzis, Panagiotis |
| author2 | School of Biological Sciences |
| author_facet | School of Biological Sciences Teseo, Serafino van Zweden, Jelle S. Pontieri, Luigi Kooij, Pepijn W. Sørensen, Søren J. Wenseleers, Tom Poulsen, Michael Boomsma, Jacobus J. Sapountzis, Panagiotis |
| author_sort | Teseo, Serafino |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Animal gut microbiota affect host physiology and behaviour. In social insects, where colony level integrity is preserved via a nestmate discrimination system based on cuticular hydrocarbon mixtures, microorganismal effects may therefore influence social dynamics. Although nestmate recognition has undergone a thorough exploration during the last four decades, few studies have investigated the putative role of gut microbes. Here, we integrated 16S rRNA-based microbial community profiling, chemical and behavioural approaches to test whether gut microbes affect nestmate recognition in Acromyrmex echinatior leaf-cutting ants. Treating workers with a sterile diet or with antibiotics resulted in a substantial alteration of their gut microbial communities. In pairwise social interactions, untreated versus antibiotic-treated nestmates behaved more aggressively than other nestmate and non-nestmate pairs, suggesting that bacterial suppression may alter chemical social cues and trigger aggressive behaviour. Chemical analyses of treated individuals revealed a decrease in the abundance of two metapleural gland antifungal compounds, and confirmed the correspondence between aggression levels and chemical profile differences. Feeding microbiota-remodelled ants with conspecific faecal droplets partially restored the original bacterial communities. Ants fed with faecal droplets from different colonies were unusually aggressive compared to pairs fed with faecal droplets from the same colony. We cannot exclude confounding effects resulting from the potentially harmful action of antibiotics on ant hosts. However, our results suggest a correlation between chemical profiles and the presence of certain microbial species in the gut, which may affect nestmate recognition and division of labour. This opens novel questions about the role of symbiotic microorganisms in the evolution of social insect behaviour. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:54:08Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/144702 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:54:08Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1447022023-02-28T16:57:02Z The scent of symbiosis : gut bacteria may affect social interactions in leaf-cutting ants Teseo, Serafino van Zweden, Jelle S. Pontieri, Luigi Kooij, Pepijn W. Sørensen, Søren J. Wenseleers, Tom Poulsen, Michael Boomsma, Jacobus J. Sapountzis, Panagiotis School of Biological Sciences Science::Biological sciences Acromyrmex Echinatior Cuticular Hydrocarbons Animal gut microbiota affect host physiology and behaviour. In social insects, where colony level integrity is preserved via a nestmate discrimination system based on cuticular hydrocarbon mixtures, microorganismal effects may therefore influence social dynamics. Although nestmate recognition has undergone a thorough exploration during the last four decades, few studies have investigated the putative role of gut microbes. Here, we integrated 16S rRNA-based microbial community profiling, chemical and behavioural approaches to test whether gut microbes affect nestmate recognition in Acromyrmex echinatior leaf-cutting ants. Treating workers with a sterile diet or with antibiotics resulted in a substantial alteration of their gut microbial communities. In pairwise social interactions, untreated versus antibiotic-treated nestmates behaved more aggressively than other nestmate and non-nestmate pairs, suggesting that bacterial suppression may alter chemical social cues and trigger aggressive behaviour. Chemical analyses of treated individuals revealed a decrease in the abundance of two metapleural gland antifungal compounds, and confirmed the correspondence between aggression levels and chemical profile differences. Feeding microbiota-remodelled ants with conspecific faecal droplets partially restored the original bacterial communities. Ants fed with faecal droplets from different colonies were unusually aggressive compared to pairs fed with faecal droplets from the same colony. We cannot exclude confounding effects resulting from the potentially harmful action of antibiotics on ant hosts. However, our results suggest a correlation between chemical profiles and the presence of certain microbial species in the gut, which may affect nestmate recognition and division of labour. This opens novel questions about the role of symbiotic microorganisms in the evolution of social insect behaviour. Accepted version 2020-11-20T01:21:33Z 2020-11-20T01:21:33Z 2019 Journal Article Teseo, S., van Zweden, J. S., Pontieri, L., Kooij, P. W., Sørensen, S. J., Wenseleers, T., . . . Sapountzis, P. (2019). The scent of symbiosis: gut bacteria may affect social interactions in leaf-cutting ants. Animal Behaviour, 150, 239–254. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.12.017 0003-3472 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/144702 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.12.017 150 239 254 en Animal Behaviour © 2019 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. All rights reserved. This paper was published by Elsevier Ltd in Animal Behaviour and is made available with permission of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Science::Biological sciences Acromyrmex Echinatior Cuticular Hydrocarbons Teseo, Serafino van Zweden, Jelle S. Pontieri, Luigi Kooij, Pepijn W. Sørensen, Søren J. Wenseleers, Tom Poulsen, Michael Boomsma, Jacobus J. Sapountzis, Panagiotis The scent of symbiosis : gut bacteria may affect social interactions in leaf-cutting ants |
| title | The scent of symbiosis : gut bacteria may affect social interactions in leaf-cutting ants |
| title_full | The scent of symbiosis : gut bacteria may affect social interactions in leaf-cutting ants |
| title_fullStr | The scent of symbiosis : gut bacteria may affect social interactions in leaf-cutting ants |
| title_full_unstemmed | The scent of symbiosis : gut bacteria may affect social interactions in leaf-cutting ants |
| title_short | The scent of symbiosis : gut bacteria may affect social interactions in leaf-cutting ants |
| title_sort | scent of symbiosis gut bacteria may affect social interactions in leaf cutting ants |
| topic | Science::Biological sciences Acromyrmex Echinatior Cuticular Hydrocarbons |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/144702 |
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