Exposure to cuticular bacteria can alter host behavior in a funnel-weaving spider

Parks, Olivia B.; Kothamasu, Krishna S; Ziemba, Michael J; Benner, Morgan; Cristinziano, Madison; Kantz, Serena; Leger, D.; Li, John; Patel, Devanshi; Rabuse, William; Sutton, Samantha; Wilson, Amandi; Baireddy, Priyanka; Kamat, Aditi A; Callas, Mariah J; Borges, Matthew J; Scalia, Marysa N; Klenk, Emily; Scherer, Gabrielle; Martínez, María Martínez; Grubb, Sarah R.; Kaufmann, Nancy; Pruitt, Jonathan N.; Keiser, Carl N.

doi:10.1093/cz/zoy013

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The guidelines of Parks et al [21] were followed for bacteria isolation from ant bodies, with adaptation for RIFA in the current study. From each colony, a total of 12 ants were selected at random and transferred in pairs into a sterile 15 mL conical tube containing 1 mL sterile freshly prepared LB broth.…”

Section: Bacteria Isolation From Ant Bodiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Mound Soils Bacterial Community of the Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta across Guangdong Province of China

et al. 2023

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Soil microbes have a wide range of distribution across the world and can be found in different agricultural and forest systems including cultivated soils, ant mounds, decaying trees, leaves, roots, and on insect bodies. Across five counties of Guangdong province of China, the assemblage of bacterial associates of red imported fire ant (RIFA) were examined. The locations were selected based on evidence of high presence of RIFA mounds in these regions. Samples were analyzed from mound soils, plant debris within mounds, and the ant body. The current study analyzed bacterial species composition and richness patterns, where 525 isolates were recovered in total, comprising 44 bacterial taxa. Taxa abundance was highest in the ant body at 35 taxa, while the values were relatively similar across soil substrate and plant debris, where 3 and 6 taxa, respectively, were recorded. The highest bacterial taxa recovery rate was recorded in Guangzhou, where a total of 17 taxa were isolated. Myroides odoratimimus was the most common across all substrates and locations among the bacterial taxa. Others with the highest isolation frequencies includes, Enterobacter cloacae, Vagococcus fluvialis, and Myroides odoratus. The understanding of the bacterial community composition of RIFA is crucial for the development of successful management techniques for these notorious social ants. In order to expand on the findings of the current study, it is imperative to understand if the associated microbial communities of the RIFA form a parasitic, antagonistic, or mutualistic relationship with their host. In this vein, further studies would examine the influence of the characterized bacterial associates of the RIFA on the social behavior, physiology, and the host response to foreign pathogens.

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Section: Bacteria Isolation From Ant Bodiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Mound Soils Bacterial Community of the Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta across Guangdong Province of China

et al. 2023

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“…We found no effect of exposing males to bacteria on their courtship behaviour (as has been found in other host–parasite systems: Abbot & Dill, ; McLachlan, ), perhaps because this was a topical application while female exposure was an internal application. Although similar topical applications of cuticular bacteria have been found to influence spider behaviour (Keiser, Shearer, et al, ; Keiser, Wright, et al, ; Parks et al, ), more detailed experiments are needed to illuminate the mechanistic underpinnings shaping the relationship between bacterial exposure and sexual behaviour.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, we took precautions to adhere to the ASAB/ARRIVE Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research to minimize unnecessary stresses or harm to the spiders. A recent study showed that a similar application of cuticular bacteria to A. pennsylvanica was not detrimental to survival (Parks et al, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most common ecological interaction with which any animal is confronted is undoubtedly with the diverse milieu of microbes present in their environment (Ezenwa, Gerardo, Inouye, Medina, & Xavier, ; McFall‐Ngai et al, ). Associations with environmental microbes can affect not only host physiology and behaviour (Parks et al, ), but can also shift the outcome of interactions with predators (Ramirez & Snyder, ), competitors (Grosholz, ) and potential mates (Worden, Parker, & Pappas, ). In the context of sexual behaviour, microbes encountered via contact with mates can potentially threaten future performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These structures are also used during courtship in Agelenopsis (Singer et al, ), and for stridulation or visual signals in other spiders (Elias, Mason, & Hoy, ; Fernández‐Montraveta & Simó, ), where bacteria could be acquired from the environment and transferred into the female body cavity during sperm transfer. Environmental microbes do occur on the cuticles of A. pennsylvanica and have been shown to alter host behaviour (Parks et al, ). However, the degree to which exposure to environmental microbes can alter male courtship effort or female receptivity remains unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spiders, microbes and sex: Bacterial exposure on copulatory organs alters mating behaviour in funnel‐web spiders

2019

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Environmental microbes have the potential to be involved in nearly all behavioural processes. For example, mating systems where males use intromittent organs to transfer sperm to females represent a means by which environmental microbes collected by males can breach entry into females' body cavities during mating. However, the degree to which the acquisition of environmental microbes onto important sex structures alters courtship behaviours remains unknown. Here, we collected bacteria from the copulatory organs of Agelenopsis pennsylvanica funnel‐weaving spiders in situ to test whether exposure to bacteria on copulatory organs can alter hosts' courtship behaviour, reproductive success and survival. We used a standardized assay to repeatedly measure each spider's aggressiveness, a behavioural component of both male courtship and female sexual receptivity. Then, we experimentally altered the bacteria present on male and female spiders' copulatory organs with an application of either (a) a mixture of bacteria collected from conspecifics to increase bacterial presence, (b) an antibiotic to reduce bacterial presence or (c) a procedural control. Each spider was paired with a size‐matched spider of the opposite sex whose copulatory organs were unaltered, and we measured the latency until the onset and the duration of courtship. Spiders were then isolated, and we measured each individual's time until death and female fecundity over the next 40 days. We found that female exposure to bacteria had multiple effects on mating dynamics. Males took over four times longer to begin courting females that had been exposed to bacteria compared to unexposed and antibiotic‐treated females. Only when courting these bacteria‐exposed females, males began courtship sooner when females were more aggressive. Lastly, females whose mate had been exposed to bacteria experienced reduced survival. These data suggest that bacteria present on animals' copulatory organs can alter courtship behaviours, female survivorship, and may potentially play a role in mating dynamics.

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Parasites of spiders: Their impacts on host behavior and ecology

Durkin

Cassidy

Gilbert

et al. 2021

The Journal of Arachnology

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Exposure to cuticular bacteria can alter host behavior in a funnel-weaving spider

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Assessment of Mound Soils Bacterial Community of the Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta across Guangdong Province of China

Assessment of Mound Soils Bacterial Community of the Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta across Guangdong Province of China

Spiders, microbes and sex: Bacterial exposure on copulatory organs alters mating behaviour in funnel‐web spiders

Parasites of spiders: Their impacts on host behavior and ecology

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