Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies
In social groups, infections have the potential to spread rapidly and cause disease outbreaks. Here, we show that in a social insect, the ant Lasius neglectus, the negative consequences of fungal infections (Metarhizium brunneum) can be mitigated by employing an efficient multicomponent behaviour, t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
2018
|
| _version_ | 1797070484642201600 |
|---|---|
| author | Pull, CD Ugelvig, LV Wiesenhofer, F Grasse, AV Tragust, S Schmitt, T Brown, MJF Cremer, S |
| author_facet | Pull, CD Ugelvig, LV Wiesenhofer, F Grasse, AV Tragust, S Schmitt, T Brown, MJF Cremer, S |
| author_sort | Pull, CD |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | In social groups, infections have the potential to spread rapidly and cause disease outbreaks. Here, we show that in a social insect, the ant Lasius neglectus, the negative consequences of fungal infections (Metarhizium brunneum) can be mitigated by employing an efficient multicomponent behaviour, termed destructive disinfection, which prevents further spread of the disease through the colony. Ants specifically target infected pupae during the pathogen’s non-contagious incubation period, utilising chemical ‘sickness cues’ emitted by pupae. They then remove the pupal cocoon, perforate its cuticle and administer antimicrobial poison, which enters the body and prevents pathogen replication from the inside out. Like the immune system of a metazoan body that specifically targets and eliminates infected cells, ants destroy infected brood to stop the pathogen completing its lifecycle, thus protecting the rest of the colony. Hence, in an analogous fashion, the same principles of disease defence apply at different levels of biological organisation.
|
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T22:39:31Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:5b0e689e-7025-42c2-abb8-b936cd503cbf |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T22:39:31Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:5b0e689e-7025-42c2-abb8-b936cd503cbf2022-03-26T17:19:44ZDestructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant coloniesJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:5b0e689e-7025-42c2-abb8-b936cd503cbfEnglishSymplectic ElementseLife Sciences Publications, Ltd2018Pull, CDUgelvig, LVWiesenhofer, FGrasse, AVTragust, SSchmitt, TBrown, MJFCremer, SIn social groups, infections have the potential to spread rapidly and cause disease outbreaks. Here, we show that in a social insect, the ant Lasius neglectus, the negative consequences of fungal infections (Metarhizium brunneum) can be mitigated by employing an efficient multicomponent behaviour, termed destructive disinfection, which prevents further spread of the disease through the colony. Ants specifically target infected pupae during the pathogen’s non-contagious incubation period, utilising chemical ‘sickness cues’ emitted by pupae. They then remove the pupal cocoon, perforate its cuticle and administer antimicrobial poison, which enters the body and prevents pathogen replication from the inside out. Like the immune system of a metazoan body that specifically targets and eliminates infected cells, ants destroy infected brood to stop the pathogen completing its lifecycle, thus protecting the rest of the colony. Hence, in an analogous fashion, the same principles of disease defence apply at different levels of biological organisation. |
| spellingShingle | Pull, CD Ugelvig, LV Wiesenhofer, F Grasse, AV Tragust, S Schmitt, T Brown, MJF Cremer, S Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies |
| title | Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies |
| title_full | Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies |
| title_fullStr | Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies |
| title_short | Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies |
| title_sort | destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pullcd destructivedisinfectionofinfectedbroodpreventssystemicdiseasespreadinantcolonies AT ugelviglv destructivedisinfectionofinfectedbroodpreventssystemicdiseasespreadinantcolonies AT wiesenhoferf destructivedisinfectionofinfectedbroodpreventssystemicdiseasespreadinantcolonies AT grasseav destructivedisinfectionofinfectedbroodpreventssystemicdiseasespreadinantcolonies AT tragusts destructivedisinfectionofinfectedbroodpreventssystemicdiseasespreadinantcolonies AT schmittt destructivedisinfectionofinfectedbroodpreventssystemicdiseasespreadinantcolonies AT brownmjf destructivedisinfectionofinfectedbroodpreventssystemicdiseasespreadinantcolonies AT cremers destructivedisinfectionofinfectedbroodpreventssystemicdiseasespreadinantcolonies |