Lock-picks: fungal infection facilitates the intrusion of strangers into ant colonies

Csata, Enikő; Timus, Natalia; Witek, Magdalena; Casacci, Luca Pietro; Lucas, Christophe; Bagnères, Anne‐Geneviève; Sztencel-Jabłonka, Anna; Barbero, Francesca; Bonelli, Simona; Rákosy, László; Markó, Bálint

doi:10.1038/srep46323

Cited by 32 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…A Generalised Linear Model (GLM) assuming Gamma distribution (log-link) was first performed to compare the proportions of VOC classes between the four sites using the GLM function in R. VOC classes were response variables while the four study sites were used as a categorical predictor. The relevel function was used to construct a set of level contrasts for the four sites [69,70] and the Wald test used to evaluate the significance of estimated effects [71].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural Variation in Volatile Emissions of the Invasive Weed Calluna vulgaris in New Zealand

Effah

Barrett

Peterson

et al. 2020

Plants

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Invasive plants pose a threat to natural ecosystems, changing the community composition and ecological dynamics. One aspect that has received little attention is the production and emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by invasive plants. Investigating VOCs is important because they are involved in vital ecological interactions such as pollination, herbivory and plant competition. Heather, Calluna vulgaris, is a major invasive weed in New Zealand, especially on the Central Plateau, where it has spread rapidly since its introduction in 1912, outcompeting native species. However, the chemical behaviour of heather in its invaded ranges is poorly understood. We aimed to explore the natural variation in volatile emissions of heather and the biotic and abiotic factors influencing them on the Central Plateau of New Zealand. To this end, foliar volatiles produced by heather at four different sites were collected and analysed using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Soil properties, herbivory and other environmental data were also collected at each site to investigate their effects on VOC emissions using generalised linear models (GLMs). Our results reveal significant differences in VOC emissions between sites and suggest that soil nutrients are the main factor accounting for these differences. Herbivory and temperature had only a minor effect, while soil water content had no impact. Further studies are needed to investigate how these variations in the invasive plant’s foliar volatiles influence native species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural Variation in Volatile Emissions of the Invasive Weed Calluna vulgaris in New Zealand

Effah

Barrett

Peterson

et al. 2020

Plants

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“…If no contact was observed during the first 10-15 min, we stopped the trial and repeated later. For each trial, an aggression index was calculated as a ratio between all aggressive interactions, and the sum of all behaviours observed (following Csata et al, 2017;Ma ak et al, 2014).…”

Section: Social Defensive Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The colony odour which is used as a template by individuals for discriminating nestmates from strangers is fairly uniform in small monogynous colonies, but it may be fuzzy in large polygynous societies because of their greater genetic diversity (Vander Meer & Morel, 1998). A broader chemical template in polygynous colony could result in lower worker aggressiveness against intruders (Reeve, 1989;F€ urst et al, 2012;Csata et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of colony traits on the collective behaviour of Myrmica scabrinodis ants

Maák

Camera

Casacci

et al. 2019

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Eusocial insects exhibit different kinds of collective behaviours which are the outcomes of interactions among several individuals without central control. Ant societies are ideal models to study group behaviours performed by cooperative individuals at caste or at the colony level. In addition to the ecological constraints, such as the costs of maintaining patterns of interactions, the social structure might also affect the collective behaviour in ants. We tested the effect of Myrmica scabrinodis colony traits (number of queens, colony size, and colony age structure) on four major collective behaviours (aggression against intruders, removal of nestmate corpses, foraging, and colony relocation). Our results showed that neither the number of queens nor the colony size affected the level of aggression against non‐nestmates while the efficiency of corpse removal was positively correlated with both traits. The age structure of the colony influenced both the aggressiveness towards non‐nestmates and the hygienic behaviours. Subcolonies containing a higher proportion of young individuals were more aggressive and less efficient in corpse removal. All studied traits affected foraging activity, as one of the most important behaviour in colony life. Some of the ant collective behaviours, like foraging, are determined by many traits and their interaction, while others are mostly determined by one or a few major colony characteristics. Overall, our results suggest that individual tasks which generate collective behaviours depend on different intrinsic traits of the ant colony that make a timely and appropriate behavioural response possible in every situation.

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“…Bioassays were performed as described by Csata et al . [32]. Briefly, two transparent plastic tubes (3 cm long) were joined and separated by a small piece of red plastic foil.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origanum vulgare terpenoids modulate Myrmica scabrinodis brain biogenic amines and ant behaviour

2018

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Coordinated social behaviour is fundamental for ant ecological success. However, even distantly-related organisms, such as plants, have evolved the ability to manipulate ant collective performances to their own advantage. In the parasitic system encompassing Maculinea butterflies, Myrmica ants, and Origanum vulgare plants, the ant-plant interaction elicits the release of a volatile terpenoid compound (carvacrol) which is used by the gravid butterfly to locate the ideal oviposition site. Here we show that this ant-plant association is maintained by the effect of O. vulgare terpenoids on ant behaviour and that food plants might gain protection by Myrmica ants by chemically manipulating workers to forage in their surroundings. The variation in the locomotor ability of three ant species (Formica cinerea, Tetramorium caespitum, and Myrmica scabrinodis) was studied after treatment with the two major O. vulgare terpenoid volatile compounds (i.e., carvacrol and thymol). The brain levels of three biogenic amines (dopamine, tyramine and serotonin) were analysed in ants exposed to the O. vulgare terpenoids by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Carvacrol and thymol increased the locomotor activity of all ant species tested, but if blended reduced the movement propensity of Myrmica scabrinodis. Dopamine and tyramine production was positively correlated with the worker locomotor activity. In Myrmica ants, both brain biogenic ammines were negatively correlated with the aggressive behaviour. Blends of O. vulgare volatiles affected the locomotor ability while increased the aggressiveness of Myrmica workers by altering the aminergic regulation in the ant brains. This behavioural manipulation, might enhance partner fidelity and plant protection. Our findings provide new insights supporting a direct role of plant volatiles in driving behavioural changes in social insects through biogenic amine modulation.

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Lock-picks: fungal infection facilitates the intrusion of strangers into ant colonies

Cited by 32 publications

References 68 publications

Natural Variation in Volatile Emissions of the Invasive Weed Calluna vulgaris in New Zealand

Natural Variation in Volatile Emissions of the Invasive Weed Calluna vulgaris in New Zealand

The influence of colony traits on the collective behaviour of Myrmica scabrinodis ants

Origanum vulgare terpenoids modulate Myrmica scabrinodis brain biogenic amines and ant behaviour

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