---
_id: '7'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Animal social networks are shaped by multiple selection pressures, including
the need to ensure efficient communication and functioning while simultaneously
limiting disease transmission. Social animals could potentially further reduce
epidemic risk by altering their social networks in the presence of pathogens,
yet there is currently no evidence for such pathogen-triggered responses. We tested
this hypothesis experimentally in the ant Lasius niger using a combination of
automated tracking, controlled pathogen exposure, transmission quantification,
and temporally explicit simulations. Pathogen exposure induced behavioral changes
in both exposed ants and their nestmates, which helped contain the disease by
reinforcing key transmission-inhibitory properties of the colony's contact network.
This suggests that social network plasticity in response to pathogens is an effective
strategy for mitigating the effects of disease in social groups.
acknowledgement: This project was funded by two European Research Council Advanced
Grants (Social Life, 249375, and resiliANT, 741491) and two Swiss National Science
Foundation grants (CR32I3_141063 and 310030_156732) to L.K. and a European Research
Council Starting Grant (SocialVaccines, 243071) to S.C.
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Nathalie
full_name: Stroeymeyt, Nathalie
last_name: Stroeymeyt
- first_name: Anna V
full_name: Grasse, Anna V
id: 406F989C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Grasse
- first_name: Alessandro
full_name: Crespi, Alessandro
last_name: Crespi
- first_name: Danielle
full_name: Mersch, Danielle
last_name: Mersch
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
- first_name: Laurent
full_name: Keller, Laurent
last_name: Keller
citation:
ama: Stroeymeyt N, Grasse AV, Crespi A, Mersch D, Cremer S, Keller L. Social network
plasticity decreases disease transmission in a eusocial insect. Science.
2018;362(6417):941-945. doi:10.1126/science.aat4793
apa: Stroeymeyt, N., Grasse, A. V., Crespi, A., Mersch, D., Cremer, S., & Keller,
L. (2018). Social network plasticity decreases disease transmission in a eusocial
insect. Science. AAAS. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat4793
chicago: Stroeymeyt, Nathalie, Anna V Grasse, Alessandro Crespi, Danielle Mersch,
Sylvia Cremer, and Laurent Keller. “Social Network Plasticity Decreases Disease
Transmission in a Eusocial Insect.” Science. AAAS, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat4793.
ieee: N. Stroeymeyt, A. V. Grasse, A. Crespi, D. Mersch, S. Cremer, and L. Keller,
“Social network plasticity decreases disease transmission in a eusocial insect,”
Science, vol. 362, no. 6417. AAAS, pp. 941–945, 2018.
ista: Stroeymeyt N, Grasse AV, Crespi A, Mersch D, Cremer S, Keller L. 2018. Social
network plasticity decreases disease transmission in a eusocial insect. Science.
362(6417), 941–945.
mla: Stroeymeyt, Nathalie, et al. “Social Network Plasticity Decreases Disease Transmission
in a Eusocial Insect.” Science, vol. 362, no. 6417, AAAS, 2018, pp. 941–45,
doi:10.1126/science.aat4793.
short: N. Stroeymeyt, A.V. Grasse, A. Crespi, D. Mersch, S. Cremer, L. Keller, Science
362 (2018) 941–945.
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:44:07Z
date_published: 2018-11-23T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-10-17T11:50:05Z
day: '23'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1126/science.aat4793
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
isi:
- '000451124500041'
intvolume: ' 362'
isi: 1
issue: '6417'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_E9228C205467.P001/REF.pdf
month: '11'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 941 - 945
project:
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
publication: Science
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 1095-9203
publication_status: published
publisher: AAAS
publist_id: '8049'
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
link:
- description: News on IST Homepage
relation: press_release
url: https://ist.ac.at/en/news/for-ants-unity-is-strength-and-health/
record:
- id: '13055'
relation: research_data
status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Social network plasticity decreases disease transmission in a eusocial insect
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 362
year: '2018'
...
---
_id: '616'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Social insects protect their colonies from infectious disease through collective
defences that result in social immunity. In ants, workers first try to prevent
infection of colony members. Here, we show that if this fails and a pathogen establishes
an infection, ants employ an efficient multicomponent behaviour − "destructive
disinfection" − to prevent further spread of disease through the colony.
Ants specifically target infected pupae during the pathogen's non-contagious incubation
period, relying on 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 body that specifically targets and eliminates infected cells,
this social immunity measure sacrifices infected brood to stop the pathogen completing
its lifecycle, thus protecting the rest of the colony. Hence, the same principles
of disease defence apply at different levels of biological organisation.
article_number: e32073
article_processing_charge: Yes
author:
- first_name: Christopher
full_name: Pull, Christopher
id: 3C7F4840-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Pull
orcid: 0000-0003-1122-3982
- first_name: Line V
full_name: Ugelvig, Line V
id: 3DC97C8E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Ugelvig
orcid: 0000-0003-1832-8883
- first_name: Florian
full_name: Wiesenhofer, Florian
id: 39523C54-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Wiesenhofer
- first_name: Anna V
full_name: Grasse, Anna V
id: 406F989C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Grasse
- first_name: Simon
full_name: Tragust, Simon
id: 35A7A418-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Tragust
- first_name: Thomas
full_name: Schmitt, Thomas
last_name: Schmitt
- first_name: Mark
full_name: Brown, Mark
last_name: Brown
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: Pull C, Ugelvig LV, Wiesenhofer F, et al. Destructive disinfection of infected
brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies. eLife. 2018;7.
doi:10.7554/eLife.32073
apa: Pull, C., Ugelvig, L. V., Wiesenhofer, F., Grasse, A. V., Tragust, S., Schmitt,
T., … Cremer, S. (2018). Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic
disease spread in ant colonies. ELife. eLife Sciences Publications. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.32073
chicago: Pull, Christopher, Line V Ugelvig, Florian Wiesenhofer, Anna V Grasse,
Simon Tragust, Thomas Schmitt, Mark Brown, and Sylvia Cremer. “Destructive Disinfection
of Infected Brood Prevents Systemic Disease Spread in Ant Colonies.” ELife.
eLife Sciences Publications, 2018. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.32073.
ieee: C. Pull et al., “Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents
systemic disease spread in ant colonies,” eLife, vol. 7. eLife Sciences
Publications, 2018.
ista: Pull C, Ugelvig LV, Wiesenhofer F, Grasse AV, Tragust S, Schmitt T, Brown
M, Cremer S. 2018. Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic
disease spread in ant colonies. eLife. 7, e32073.
mla: Pull, Christopher, et al. “Destructive Disinfection of Infected Brood Prevents
Systemic Disease Spread in Ant Colonies.” ELife, vol. 7, e32073, eLife
Sciences Publications, 2018, doi:10.7554/eLife.32073.
short: C. Pull, L.V. Ugelvig, F. Wiesenhofer, A.V. Grasse, S. Tragust, T. Schmitt,
M. Brown, S. Cremer, ELife 7 (2018).
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:47:31Z
date_published: 2018-01-09T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-09-11T12:54:26Z
day: '09'
ddc:
- '570'
- '590'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.7554/eLife.32073
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
isi:
- '000419601300001'
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 540f941e8d3530a9441e4affd94f07d7
content_type: application/pdf
creator: system
date_created: 2018-12-12T10:10:43Z
date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:47:20Z
file_id: '4832'
file_name: IST-2018-978-v1+1_elife-32073-v1.pdf
file_size: 1435585
relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:47:20Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 7'
isi: 1
language:
- iso: eng
month: '01'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
- _id: 25DDF0F0-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '302004'
name: 'Pathogen Detectors Collective disease defence and pathogen detection abilities
in ant societies: a chemo-neuro-immunological approach'
publication: eLife
publication_status: published
publisher: eLife Sciences Publications
publist_id: '7188'
pubrep_id: '978'
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
record:
- id: '819'
relation: dissertation_contains
status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread
in ant colonies
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: c635000d-4b10-11ee-a964-aac5a93f6ac1
volume: 7
year: '2018'
...
---
_id: '413'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Being cared for when sick is a benefit of sociality that can reduce disease
and improve survival of group members. However, individuals providing care risk
contracting infectious diseases themselves. If they contract a low pathogen dose,
they may develop low-level infections that do not cause disease but still affect
host immunity by either decreasing or increasing the host’s vulnerability to subsequent
infections. Caring for contagious individuals can thus significantly alter the
future disease susceptibility of caregivers. Using ants and their fungal pathogens
as a model system, we tested if the altered disease susceptibility of experienced
caregivers, in turn, affects their expression of sanitary care behavior. We found
that low-level infections contracted during sanitary care had protective or neutral
effects on secondary exposure to the same (homologous) pathogen but consistently
caused high mortality on superinfection with a different (heterologous) pathogen.
In response to this risk, the ants selectively adjusted the expression of their
sanitary care. Specifically, the ants performed less grooming and more antimicrobial
disinfection when caring for nestmates contaminated with heterologous pathogens
compared with homologous ones. By modulating the components of sanitary care in
this way the ants acquired less infectious particles of the heterologous pathogens,
resulting in reduced superinfection. The performance of risk-adjusted sanitary
care reveals the remarkable capacity of ants to react to changes in their disease
susceptibility, according to their own infection history and to flexibly adjust
collective care to individual risk.
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Matthias
full_name: Konrad, Matthias
id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Konrad
- first_name: Christopher
full_name: Pull, Christopher
id: 3C7F4840-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Pull
orcid: 0000-0003-1122-3982
- first_name: Sina
full_name: Metzler, Sina
id: 48204546-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Metzler
orcid: 0000-0002-9547-2494
- first_name: Katharina
full_name: Seif, Katharina
id: 90F7894A-02CF-11E9-976E-E38CFE5CBC1D
last_name: Seif
- first_name: Elisabeth
full_name: Naderlinger, Elisabeth
id: 31757262-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Naderlinger
- first_name: Anna V
full_name: Grasse, Anna V
id: 406F989C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Grasse
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: Konrad M, Pull C, Metzler S, et al. Ants avoid superinfections by performing
risk-adjusted sanitary care. PNAS. 2018;115(11):2782-2787. doi:10.1073/pnas.1713501115
apa: Konrad, M., Pull, C., Metzler, S., Seif, K., Naderlinger, E., Grasse, A. V.,
& Cremer, S. (2018). Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted
sanitary care. PNAS. National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1713501115
chicago: Konrad, Matthias, Christopher Pull, Sina Metzler, Katharina Seif, Elisabeth
Naderlinger, Anna V Grasse, and Sylvia Cremer. “Ants Avoid Superinfections by
Performing Risk-Adjusted Sanitary Care.” PNAS. National Academy of Sciences,
2018. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1713501115.
ieee: M. Konrad et al., “Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted
sanitary care,” PNAS, vol. 115, no. 11. National Academy of Sciences, pp.
2782–2787, 2018.
ista: Konrad M, Pull C, Metzler S, Seif K, Naderlinger E, Grasse AV, Cremer S. 2018.
Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care. PNAS. 115(11),
2782–2787.
mla: Konrad, Matthias, et al. “Ants Avoid Superinfections by Performing Risk-Adjusted
Sanitary Care.” PNAS, vol. 115, no. 11, National Academy of Sciences, 2018,
pp. 2782–87, doi:10.1073/pnas.1713501115.
short: M. Konrad, C. Pull, S. Metzler, K. Seif, E. Naderlinger, A.V. Grasse, S.
Cremer, PNAS 115 (2018) 2782–2787.
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:46:20Z
date_published: 2018-03-13T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-09-08T13:22:21Z
day: '13'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1713501115
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
isi:
- '000427245400069'
pmid:
- '29463746'
intvolume: ' 115'
isi: 1
issue: '11'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29463746
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 2782 - 2787
pmid: 1
project:
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
publication: PNAS
publication_status: published
publisher: National Academy of Sciences
publist_id: '7416'
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
link:
- description: News on IST Homepage
relation: press_release
url: https://ist.ac.at/en/news/helping-in-spite-of-risk-ants-perform-risk-averse-sanitary-care-of-infectious-nest-mates/
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care
type: journal_article
user_id: c635000d-4b10-11ee-a964-aac5a93f6ac1
volume: 115
year: '2018'
...
---
_id: '732'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'Background: Social insects form densely crowded societies in environments
with high pathogen loads, but have evolved collective defences that mitigate the
impact of disease. However, colony-founding queens lack this protection and suffer
high rates of mortality. The impact of pathogens may be exacerbated in species
where queens found colonies together, as healthy individuals may contract pathogens
from infectious co-founders. Therefore, we tested whether ant queens avoid founding
colonies with pathogen-exposed conspecifics and how they might limit disease transmission
from infectious individuals. Results: Using Lasius Niger queens and a naturally
infecting fungal pathogen Metarhizium brunneum, we observed that queens were equally
likely to found colonies with another pathogen-exposed or sham-treated queen.
However, when one queen died, the surviving individual performed biting, burial
and removal of the corpse. These undertaking behaviours were performed prophylactically,
i.e. targeted equally towards non-infected and infected corpses, as well as carried
out before infected corpses became infectious. Biting and burial reduced the risk
of the queens contracting and dying from disease from an infectious corpse of
a dead co-foundress. Conclusions: We show that co-founding ant queens express
undertaking behaviours that, in mature colonies, are performed exclusively by
workers. Such infection avoidance behaviours act before the queens can contract
the disease and will therefore improve the overall chance of colony founding success
in ant queens.'
article_number: '219'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Christopher
full_name: Pull, Christopher
id: 3C7F4840-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Pull
orcid: 0000-0003-1122-3982
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: Pull C, Cremer S. Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by performing prophylactic
undertaking behaviour. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 2017;17(1). doi:10.1186/s12862-017-1062-4
apa: Pull, C., & Cremer, S. (2017). Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by
performing prophylactic undertaking behaviour. BMC Evolutionary Biology.
BioMed Central. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-1062-4
chicago: Pull, Christopher, and Sylvia Cremer. “Co-Founding Ant Queens Prevent Disease
by Performing Prophylactic Undertaking Behaviour.” BMC Evolutionary Biology.
BioMed Central, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-1062-4.
ieee: C. Pull and S. Cremer, “Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by performing
prophylactic undertaking behaviour,” BMC Evolutionary Biology, vol. 17,
no. 1. BioMed Central, 2017.
ista: Pull C, Cremer S. 2017. Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by performing
prophylactic undertaking behaviour. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17(1), 219.
mla: Pull, Christopher, and Sylvia Cremer. “Co-Founding Ant Queens Prevent Disease
by Performing Prophylactic Undertaking Behaviour.” BMC Evolutionary Biology,
vol. 17, no. 1, 219, BioMed Central, 2017, doi:10.1186/s12862-017-1062-4.
short: C. Pull, S. Cremer, BMC Evolutionary Biology 17 (2017).
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:48:12Z
date_published: 2017-10-13T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-09-28T11:31:32Z
day: '13'
ddc:
- '576'
- '592'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1186/s12862-017-1062-4
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
isi:
- '000412816800001'
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 3e24a2cfd48f49f7b3643d08d30fb480
content_type: application/pdf
creator: system
date_created: 2018-12-12T10:17:18Z
date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:47:55Z
file_id: '5271'
file_name: IST-2017-882-v1+1_12862_2017_Article_1062.pdf
file_size: 949857
relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:47:55Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 17'
isi: 1
issue: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
publication: BMC Evolutionary Biology
publication_identifier:
issn:
- '14712148'
publication_status: published
publisher: BioMed Central
publist_id: '6937'
pubrep_id: '882'
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
record:
- id: '819'
relation: dissertation_contains
status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by performing prophylactic undertaking
behaviour
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: c635000d-4b10-11ee-a964-aac5a93f6ac1
volume: 17
year: '2017'
...
---
_id: '1830'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: To prevent epidemics, insect societies have evolved collective disease defences
that are highly effective at curing exposed individuals and limiting disease transmission
to healthy group members. Grooming is an important sanitary behaviour—either performed
towards oneself (self-grooming) or towards others (allogrooming)—to remove infectious
agents from the body surface of exposed individuals, but at the risk of disease
contraction by the groomer. We use garden ants (Lasius neglectus) and the fungal
pathogen Metarhizium as a model system to study how pathogen presence affects
self-grooming and allogrooming between exposed and healthy individuals. We develop
an epidemiological SIS model to explore how experimentally observed grooming patterns
affect disease spread within the colony, thereby providing a direct link between
the expression and direction of sanitary behaviours, and their effects on colony-level
epidemiology. We find that fungus-exposed ants increase self-grooming, while simultaneously
decreasing allogrooming. This behavioural modulation seems universally adaptive
and is predicted to contain disease spread in a great variety of host–pathogen
systems. In contrast, allogrooming directed towards pathogen-exposed individuals
might both increase and decrease disease risk. Our model reveals that the effect
of allogrooming depends on the balance between pathogen infectiousness and efficiency
of social host defences, which are likely to vary across host–pathogen systems.
acknowledgement: We thank Meghan L. Vyleta for the genetical fungal strain characterization
and Eva Sixt for ant drawings, Matthias Konrad for discussion and Christopher D.
Pull, Barbara Casillas-Peréz, Sebastian Novak, as well as three anonymous reviewers
and the theme issue editors Peter Kappeler and Charlie Nunn for valuable comments
on the manuscript.
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Fabian
full_name: Theis, Fabian
last_name: Theis
- first_name: Line V
full_name: Ugelvig, Line V
id: 3DC97C8E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Ugelvig
orcid: 0000-0003-1832-8883
- first_name: Carsten
full_name: Marr, Carsten
last_name: Marr
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: Theis F, Ugelvig LV, Marr C, Cremer S. Opposing effects of allogrooming on
disease transmission in ant societies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences. 2015;370(1669). doi:10.1098/rstb.2014.0108
apa: Theis, F., Ugelvig, L. V., Marr, C., & Cremer, S. (2015). Opposing effects
of allogrooming on disease transmission in ant societies. Philosophical Transactions
of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. Royal Society,
The. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2014.0108
chicago: Theis, Fabian, Line V Ugelvig, Carsten Marr, and Sylvia Cremer. “Opposing
Effects of Allogrooming on Disease Transmission in Ant Societies.” Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences.
Royal Society, The, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2014.0108.
ieee: F. Theis, L. V. Ugelvig, C. Marr, and S. Cremer, “Opposing effects of allogrooming
on disease transmission in ant societies,” Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, vol. 370, no. 1669.
Royal Society, The, 2015.
ista: Theis F, Ugelvig LV, Marr C, Cremer S. 2015. Opposing effects of allogrooming
on disease transmission in ant societies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 370(1669).
mla: Theis, Fabian, et al. “Opposing Effects of Allogrooming on Disease Transmission
in Ant Societies.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.
Series B, Biological Sciences, vol. 370, no. 1669, Royal Society, The, 2015,
doi:10.1098/rstb.2014.0108.
short: F. Theis, L.V. Ugelvig, C. Marr, S. Cremer, Philosophical Transactions of
the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 370 (2015).
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:54:15Z
date_published: 2015-05-26T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-02-23T14:06:12Z
day: '26'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0108
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
pmid:
- '25870394'
intvolume: ' 370'
issue: '1669'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4410374/
month: '05'
oa: 1
oa_version: Submitted Version
pmid: 1
project:
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
- _id: 25DDF0F0-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '302004'
name: 'Pathogen Detectors Collective disease defence and pathogen detection abilities
in ant societies: a chemo-neuro-immunological approach'
- _id: 25E0E184-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
name: Antnet
- _id: 25E24DB2-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
name: Fellowship of Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
publication: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B,
Biological Sciences
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1471-2970
issn:
- 0962-8436
publication_status: published
publisher: Royal Society, The
publist_id: '5273'
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
record:
- id: '9721'
relation: research_data
status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Opposing effects of allogrooming on disease transmission in ant societies
type: journal_article
user_id: 6785fbc1-c503-11eb-8a32-93094b40e1cf
volume: 370
year: '2015'
...
---
_id: '1850'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'Entomopathogenic fungi are potent biocontrol agents that are widely used
against insect pests, many of which are social insects. Nevertheless, theoretical
investigations of their particular life history are scarce. We develop a model
that takes into account the main distinguishing features between traditionally
studied diseases and obligate killing pathogens, like the (biocontrol-relevant)
insect-pathogenic fungi Metarhizium and Beauveria. First, obligate killing entomopathogenic
fungi produce new infectious particles (conidiospores) only after host death and
not yet on the living host. Second, the killing rates of entomopathogenic fungi
depend strongly on the initial exposure dosage, thus we explicitly consider the
pathogen load of individual hosts. Further, we make the model applicable not only
to solitary host species, but also to group living species by incorporating social
interactions between hosts, like the collective disease defences of insect societies.
Our results identify the optimal killing rate for the pathogen that minimises
its invasion threshold. Furthermore, we find that the rate of contact between
hosts has an ambivalent effect: dense interaction networks between individuals
are considered to facilitate disease outbreaks because of increased pathogen transmission.
In social insects, this is compensated by their collective disease defences, i.e.,
social immunity. For the type of pathogens considered here, we show that even
without social immunity, high contact rates between live individuals dilute the
pathogen in the host colony and hence can reduce individual pathogen loads below
disease-causing levels.'
author:
- first_name: Sebastian
full_name: Novak, Sebastian
id: 461468AE-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Novak
orcid: 0000-0002-2519-824X
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: 'Novak S, Cremer S. Fungal disease dynamics in insect societies: Optimal killing
rates and the ambivalent effect of high social interaction rates. Journal of
Theoretical Biology. 2015;372(5):54-64. doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.02.018'
apa: 'Novak, S., & Cremer, S. (2015). Fungal disease dynamics in insect societies:
Optimal killing rates and the ambivalent effect of high social interaction rates.
Journal of Theoretical Biology. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.02.018'
chicago: 'Novak, Sebastian, and Sylvia Cremer. “Fungal Disease Dynamics in Insect
Societies: Optimal Killing Rates and the Ambivalent Effect of High Social Interaction
Rates.” Journal of Theoretical Biology. Elsevier, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.02.018.'
ieee: 'S. Novak and S. Cremer, “Fungal disease dynamics in insect societies: Optimal
killing rates and the ambivalent effect of high social interaction rates,” Journal
of Theoretical Biology, vol. 372, no. 5. Elsevier, pp. 54–64, 2015.'
ista: 'Novak S, Cremer S. 2015. Fungal disease dynamics in insect societies: Optimal
killing rates and the ambivalent effect of high social interaction rates. Journal
of Theoretical Biology. 372(5), 54–64.'
mla: 'Novak, Sebastian, and Sylvia Cremer. “Fungal Disease Dynamics in Insect Societies:
Optimal Killing Rates and the Ambivalent Effect of High Social Interaction Rates.”
Journal of Theoretical Biology, vol. 372, no. 5, Elsevier, 2015, pp. 54–64,
doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.02.018.'
short: S. Novak, S. Cremer, Journal of Theoretical Biology 372 (2015) 54–64.
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:54:21Z
date_published: 2015-05-07T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-05-28T11:42:49Z
day: '07'
ddc:
- '576'
department:
- _id: NiBa
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.02.018
ec_funded: 1
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 3c0dcacc900bc45cc65a453dfda4ca43
content_type: application/pdf
creator: system
date_created: 2018-12-12T10:18:07Z
date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:45:19Z
file_id: '5326'
file_name: IST-2015-329-v1+1_manuscript.pdf
file_size: 1546914
relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:45:19Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 372'
issue: '5'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '05'
oa: 1
oa_version: Submitted Version
page: 54 - 64
project:
- _id: 25B07788-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '250152'
name: Limits to selection in biology and in evolutionary computation
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
publication: Journal of Theoretical Biology
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier
publist_id: '5251'
pubrep_id: '329'
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: 1
status: public
title: 'Fungal disease dynamics in insect societies: Optimal killing rates and the
ambivalent effect of high social interaction rates'
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 372
year: '2015'
...
---
_id: '1993'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'The fitness effects of symbionts on their hosts can be context-dependent,
with usually benign symbionts causing detrimental effects when their hosts are
stressed, or typically parasitic symbionts providing protection towards their
hosts (e.g. against pathogen infection). Here, we studied the novel association
between the invasive garden ant Lasius neglectus and its fungal ectosymbiont Laboulbenia
formicarum for potential costs and benefits. We tested ants with different Laboulbenia
levels for their survival and immunity under resource limitation and exposure
to the obligate killing entomopathogen Metarhizium brunneum. While survival of
L. neglectus workers under starvation was significantly decreased with increasing
Laboulbenia levels, host survival under Metarhizium exposure increased with higher
levels of the ectosymbiont, suggesting a symbiont-mediated anti-pathogen protection,
which seems to be driven mechanistically by both improved sanitary behaviours
and an upregulated immune system. Ants with high Laboulbenia levels showed significantly
longer self-grooming and elevated expression of immune genes relevant for wound
repair and antifungal responses (β-1,3-glucan binding protein, Prophenoloxidase),
compared with ants carrying low Laboulbenia levels. This suggests that the ectosymbiont
Laboulbenia formicarum weakens its ant host by either direct resource exploitation
or the costs of an upregulated behavioural and immunological response, which,
however, provides a prophylactic protection upon later exposure to pathogens. '
acknowledged_ssus:
- _id: EM-Fac
acknowledgement: "Funding was obtained by the German Research Foundation (CR 118–2)
and an ERC StG (243071) by the European Research Council (both to S.C.).\r\nWe thank
Line V. Ugelvig for help with ant collection and statistical discussion, Xavier
Espadaler for detailed information on the ant collection site, Birgit Lautenschläger
for the electron microscopy images and Eva Sixt for ant drawings. We further thank
Jørgen Eilenberg for the fungal strain, Meghan L. Vyleta for genetic strain characterization
and immune gene primer development, Paul Schmid-Hempel for discussion, and Line
V. Ugelvig, Xavier Espadaler and Christopher D. Pull for comments on the manuscript.
S.C., M.K. and S.T. conceived the study; M.K. and A.V.G. performed the experiments;
M.K. performed the statistical analysis; S.C. and M.K. wrote the manuscript with
intense contributions of A.V.G. and S.T.; all authors approved the manuscript."
article_number: '20141976'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Matthias
full_name: Konrad, Matthias
id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Konrad
- first_name: Anna V
full_name: Grasse, Anna V
id: 406F989C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Grasse
- first_name: Simon
full_name: Tragust, Simon
id: 35A7A418-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Tragust
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: Konrad M, Grasse AV, Tragust S, Cremer S. Anti-pathogen protection versus survival
costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host. Proceedings of the Royal
Society of London Series B Biological Sciences. 2015;282(1799). doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.1976
apa: Konrad, M., Grasse, A. V., Tragust, S., & Cremer, S. (2015). Anti-pathogen
protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host. Proceedings
of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences. The Royal Society.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1976
chicago: Konrad, Matthias, Anna V Grasse, Simon Tragust, and Sylvia Cremer. “Anti-Pathogen
Protection versus Survival Costs Mediated by an Ectosymbiont in an Ant Host.”
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences.
The Royal Society, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1976.
ieee: M. Konrad, A. V. Grasse, S. Tragust, and S. Cremer, “Anti-pathogen protection
versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host,” Proceedings
of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences, vol. 282, no.
1799. The Royal Society, 2015.
ista: Konrad M, Grasse AV, Tragust S, Cremer S. 2015. Anti-pathogen protection versus
survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host. Proceedings of the
Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences. 282(1799), 20141976.
mla: Konrad, Matthias, et al. “Anti-Pathogen Protection versus Survival Costs Mediated
by an Ectosymbiont in an Ant Host.” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London
Series B Biological Sciences, vol. 282, no. 1799, 20141976, The Royal Society,
2015, doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.1976.
short: M. Konrad, A.V. Grasse, S. Tragust, S. Cremer, Proceedings of the Royal Society
of London Series B Biological Sciences 282 (2015).
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:55:06Z
date_published: 2015-01-22T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-02-23T14:06:41Z
day: '22'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1976
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
pmid:
- '25473011'
intvolume: ' 282'
issue: '1799'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4286035/
month: '01'
oa: 1
oa_version: Submitted Version
pmid: 1
project:
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
- _id: 25DAF0B2-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
grant_number: CR-118/3-1
name: Host-Parasite Coevolution
publication: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1471-2954
issn:
- 0962-8452
publication_status: published
publisher: The Royal Society
publist_id: '5090'
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
record:
- id: '9740'
relation: research_data
status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont
in an ant host
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 282
year: '2015'
...
---
_id: '1999'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Selection for disease control is believed to have contributed to shape the
organisation of insect societies — leading to interaction patterns that mitigate
disease transmission risk within colonies, conferring them ‘organisational immunity’.
Recent studies combining epidemiological models with social network analysis have
identified general properties of interaction networks that may hinder propagation
of infection within groups. These can be prophylactic and/or induced upon pathogen
exposure. Here we review empirical evidence for these two types of organisational
immunity in social insects and describe the individual-level behaviours that underlie
it. We highlight areas requiring further investigation, and emphasise the need
for tighter links between theory and empirical research and between individual-level
and collective-level analyses.
author:
- first_name: Nathalie
full_name: Stroeymeyt, Nathalie
last_name: Stroeymeyt
- first_name: Barbara E
full_name: Casillas Perez, Barbara E
id: 351ED2AA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Casillas Perez
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: Stroeymeyt N, Casillas Perez BE, Cremer S. Organisational immunity in social
insects. Current Opinion in Insect Science. 2014;5(1):1-15. doi:10.1016/j.cois.2014.09.001
apa: Stroeymeyt, N., Casillas Perez, B. E., & Cremer, S. (2014). Organisational
immunity in social insects. Current Opinion in Insect Science. Elsevier.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2014.09.001
chicago: Stroeymeyt, Nathalie, Barbara E Casillas Perez, and Sylvia Cremer. “Organisational
Immunity in Social Insects.” Current Opinion in Insect Science. Elsevier,
2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2014.09.001.
ieee: N. Stroeymeyt, B. E. Casillas Perez, and S. Cremer, “Organisational immunity
in social insects,” Current Opinion in Insect Science, vol. 5, no. 1. Elsevier,
pp. 1–15, 2014.
ista: Stroeymeyt N, Casillas Perez BE, Cremer S. 2014. Organisational immunity in
social insects. Current Opinion in Insect Science. 5(1), 1–15.
mla: Stroeymeyt, Nathalie, et al. “Organisational Immunity in Social Insects.” Current
Opinion in Insect Science, vol. 5, no. 1, Elsevier, 2014, pp. 1–15, doi:10.1016/j.cois.2014.09.001.
short: N. Stroeymeyt, B.E. Casillas Perez, S. Cremer, Current Opinion in Insect
Science 5 (2014) 1–15.
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:55:08Z
date_published: 2014-11-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2024-03-25T23:30:04Z
day: '01'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2014.09.001
ec_funded: 1
intvolume: ' 5'
issue: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '11'
oa_version: None
page: 1 - 15
project:
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
publication: Current Opinion in Insect Science
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier
publist_id: '5080'
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
record:
- id: '6383'
relation: dissertation_contains
- id: '6435'
relation: dissertation_contains
status: public
scopus_import: 1
status: public
title: Organisational immunity in social insects
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 5
year: '2014'
...
---
_id: '2161'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'Repeated pathogen exposure is a common threat in colonies of social insects,
posing selection pressures on colony members to respond with improved disease-defense
performance. We here tested whether experience gained by repeated tending of low-level
fungus-exposed (Metarhizium robertsii) larvae may alter the performance of sanitary
brood care in the clonal ant, Platythyrea punctata. We trained ants individually
over nine consecutive trials to either sham-treated or fungus-exposed larvae.
We then compared the larval grooming behavior of naive and trained ants and measured
how effectively they removed infectious fungal conidiospores from the fungus-exposed
larvae. We found that the ants changed the duration of larval grooming in response
to both, larval treatment and their level of experience: (1) sham-treated larvae
received longer grooming than the fungus-exposed larvae and (2) trained ants performed
less self-grooming but longer larval grooming than naive ants, which was true
for both, ants trained to fungus-exposed and also to sham-treated larvae. Ants
that groomed the fungus-exposed larvae for longer periods removed a higher number
of fungal conidiospores from the surface of the fungus-exposed larvae. As experienced
ants performed longer larval grooming, they were more effective in fungal removal,
thus making them better caretakers under pathogen attack of the colony. By studying
this clonal ant, we can thus conclude that even in the absence of genetic variation
between colony members, differences in experience levels of brood care may affect
performance of sanitary brood care in social insects.'
acknowledgement: "We thank Katrin Kellner for colony establishment and characterization,
Mike Bidochka for the fungal strain, Meghan Vyleta for fungal strain characterization,
Martina Klatt and Simon Tragust for help in the laboratory, Dimitri Missoh for developing
the software BioLogic, and Mark Brown and Raphaël Jeanson for discussion and help
with data analysis. The study was funded by the European Research Council (ERC Starting
Grant to SC; Marie Curie IEF to LVU) and the German Research Foundation DFG (to
SC and to JH), and CW received funding by the doctoral school Diversité du Vivant
(Cotutelle project to CD and SC).\r\n"
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Claudia
full_name: Westhus, Claudia
id: ca9c6ca9-e8aa-11ec-a586-b9471ede0494
last_name: Westhus
- first_name: Line V
full_name: Ugelvig, Line V
id: 3DC97C8E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Ugelvig
orcid: 0000-0003-1832-8883
- first_name: Edouard
full_name: Tourdot, Edouard
last_name: Tourdot
- first_name: Jürgen
full_name: Heinze, Jürgen
last_name: Heinze
- first_name: Claudie
full_name: Doums, Claudie
last_name: Doums
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: Westhus C, Ugelvig LV, Tourdot E, Heinze J, Doums C, Cremer S. Increased grooming
after repeated brood care provides sanitary benefits in a clonal ant. Behavioral
Ecology and Sociobiology. 2014;68(10):1701-1710. doi:10.1007/s00265-014-1778-8
apa: Westhus, C., Ugelvig, L. V., Tourdot, E., Heinze, J., Doums, C., & Cremer,
S. (2014). Increased grooming after repeated brood care provides sanitary benefits
in a clonal ant. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1778-8
chicago: Westhus, Claudia, Line V Ugelvig, Edouard Tourdot, Jürgen Heinze, Claudie
Doums, and Sylvia Cremer. “Increased Grooming after Repeated Brood Care Provides
Sanitary Benefits in a Clonal Ant.” Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.
Springer, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1778-8.
ieee: C. Westhus, L. V. Ugelvig, E. Tourdot, J. Heinze, C. Doums, and S. Cremer,
“Increased grooming after repeated brood care provides sanitary benefits in a
clonal ant,” Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, vol. 68, no. 10. Springer,
pp. 1701–1710, 2014.
ista: Westhus C, Ugelvig LV, Tourdot E, Heinze J, Doums C, Cremer S. 2014. Increased
grooming after repeated brood care provides sanitary benefits in a clonal ant.
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 68(10), 1701–1710.
mla: Westhus, Claudia, et al. “Increased Grooming after Repeated Brood Care Provides
Sanitary Benefits in a Clonal Ant.” Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology,
vol. 68, no. 10, Springer, 2014, pp. 1701–10, doi:10.1007/s00265-014-1778-8.
short: C. Westhus, L.V. Ugelvig, E. Tourdot, J. Heinze, C. Doums, S. Cremer, Behavioral
Ecology and Sociobiology 68 (2014) 1701–1710.
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:56:03Z
date_published: 2014-07-23T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-02-23T14:06:46Z
day: '23'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1007/s00265-014-1778-8
ec_funded: 1
intvolume: ' 68'
issue: '10'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '07'
oa_version: None
page: 1701 - 1710
project:
- _id: 25681D80-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '291734'
name: International IST Postdoc Fellowship Programme
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
- _id: 25DAF0B2-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
grant_number: CR-118/3-1
name: Host-Parasite Coevolution
publication: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 0340-5443
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer
publist_id: '4823'
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
record:
- id: '9742'
relation: research_data
status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Increased grooming after repeated brood care provides sanitary benefits in
a clonal ant
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 68
year: '2014'
...
---
_id: '2926'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: To fight infectious diseases, host immune defenses are employed at multiple
levels. Sanitary behavior, such as pathogen avoidance and removal, acts as a first
line of defense to prevent infection [1] before activation of the physiological
immune system. Insect societies have evolved a wide range of collective hygiene
measures and intensive health care toward pathogen-exposed group members [2].
One of the most common behaviors is allogrooming, in which nestmates remove infectious
particles from the body surfaces of exposed individuals [3]. Here we show that,
in invasive garden ants, grooming of fungus-exposed brood is effective beyond
the sheer mechanical removal of fungal conidiospores; it also includes chemical
disinfection through the application of poison produced by the ants themselves.
Formic acid is the main active component of the poison. It inhibits fungal growth
of conidiospores remaining on the brood surface after grooming and also those
collected in the mouth of the grooming ant. This dual function is achieved by
uptake of the poison droplet into the mouth through acidopore self-grooming and
subsequent application onto the infectious brood via brood grooming. This extraordinary
behavior extends the current understanding of grooming and the establishment of
social immunity in insect societies.
acknowledgement: "Funding for this project was obtained by the German Research Foundation
(DFG, to S.C.) and the European Research Council (ERC, through an ERC-Starting Grant
to S.C. and an Individual Marie Curie IEF fellowship to L.V.U.).\r\nWe thank Jørgen
Eilenberg, Bernhardt Steinwender, Miriam Stock, and Meghan L. Vyleta for the fungal
strain and its characterization; Volker Witte for chemical information; Eva Sixt
for ant drawings; and Robert Hauschild for help with image analysis. We further
thank Martin Kaltenpoth, Michael Sixt, Jürgen Heinze, and Joachim Ruther for discussion
and Daria Siekhaus, Sophie A.O. Armitage, and Leila Masri for comments on the manuscript.
\r\n"
author:
- first_name: Simon
full_name: Tragust, Simon
id: 35A7A418-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Tragust
- first_name: Barbara
full_name: Mitteregger, Barbara
id: 479DDAAC-E9CD-11E9-9B5F-82450873F7A1
last_name: Mitteregger
- first_name: Vanessa
full_name: Barone, Vanessa
id: 419EECCC-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Barone
orcid: 0000-0003-2676-3367
- first_name: Matthias
full_name: Konrad, Matthias
id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Konrad
- first_name: Line V
full_name: Ugelvig, Line V
id: 3DC97C8E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Ugelvig
orcid: 0000-0003-1832-8883
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: Tragust S, Mitteregger B, Barone V, Konrad M, Ugelvig LV, Cremer S. Ants disinfect
fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison. Current Biology.
2013;23(1):76-82. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.034
apa: Tragust, S., Mitteregger, B., Barone, V., Konrad, M., Ugelvig, L. V., &
Cremer, S. (2013). Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread
of their poison. Current Biology. Cell Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.034
chicago: Tragust, Simon, Barbara Mitteregger, Vanessa Barone, Matthias Konrad, Line
V Ugelvig, and Sylvia Cremer. “Ants Disinfect Fungus-Exposed Brood by Oral Uptake
and Spread of Their Poison.” Current Biology. Cell Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.034.
ieee: S. Tragust, B. Mitteregger, V. Barone, M. Konrad, L. V. Ugelvig, and S. Cremer,
“Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison,”
Current Biology, vol. 23, no. 1. Cell Press, pp. 76–82, 2013.
ista: Tragust S, Mitteregger B, Barone V, Konrad M, Ugelvig LV, Cremer S. 2013.
Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison.
Current Biology. 23(1), 76–82.
mla: Tragust, Simon, et al. “Ants Disinfect Fungus-Exposed Brood by Oral Uptake
and Spread of Their Poison.” Current Biology, vol. 23, no. 1, Cell Press,
2013, pp. 76–82, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.034.
short: S. Tragust, B. Mitteregger, V. Barone, M. Konrad, L.V. Ugelvig, S. Cremer,
Current Biology 23 (2013) 76–82.
date_created: 2018-12-11T12:00:23Z
date_published: 2013-01-07T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-09-07T12:05:08Z
day: '07'
department:
- _id: SyCr
- _id: CaHe
doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.034
ec_funded: 1
intvolume: ' 23'
issue: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '01'
oa_version: None
page: 76 - 82
project:
- _id: 25DAF0B2-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
grant_number: CR-118/3-1
name: Host-Parasite Coevolution
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
- _id: 25DDF0F0-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '302004'
name: 'Pathogen Detectors Collective disease defence and pathogen detection abilities
in ant societies: a chemo-neuro-immunological approach'
publication: Current Biology
publication_status: published
publisher: Cell Press
publist_id: '3811'
quality_controlled: '1'
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title: Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 23
year: '2013'
...
---
_id: '2284'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'Background: The brood of ants and other social insects is highly susceptible
to pathogens, particularly those that penetrate the soft larval and pupal cuticle.
We here test whether the presence of a pupal cocoon, which occurs in some ant
species but not in others, affects the sanitary brood care and fungal infection
patterns after exposure to the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum. We
use a) a comparative approach analysing four species with either naked or cocooned
pupae and b) a within-species analysis of a single ant species, in which both
pupal types co-exist in the same colony. Results: We found that the presence of
a cocoon did not compromise fungal pathogen detection by the ants and that species
with cocooned pupae increased brood grooming after pathogen exposure. All tested
ant species further removed brood from their nests, which was predominantly expressed
towards larvae and naked pupae treated with the live fungal pathogen. In contrast,
cocooned pupae exposed to live fungus were not removed at higher rates than cocooned
pupae exposed to dead fungus or a sham control. Consistent with this, exposure
to the live fungus caused high numbers of infections and fungal outgrowth in larvae
and naked pupae, but not in cocooned pupae. Moreover, the ants consistently removed
the brood prior to fungal outgrowth, ensuring a clean brood chamber. Conclusion:
Our study suggests that the pupal cocoon has a protective effect against fungal
infection, causing an adaptive change in sanitary behaviours by the ants. It further
demonstrates that brood removal-originally described for honeybees as "hygienic
behaviour"-is a widespread sanitary behaviour in ants, which likely has important
implications on disease dynamics in social insect colonies.'
acknowledgement: "The study was funded by the European Research Council (Marie Curie
ERG 036569) and Marie Curie IEF 302204 to LVU\r\nCC BY 2.0\r\n"
article_number: '225'
author:
- first_name: Simon
full_name: Tragust, Simon
id: 35A7A418-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Tragust
- first_name: Line V
full_name: Ugelvig, Line V
id: 3DC97C8E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Ugelvig
orcid: 0000-0003-1832-8883
- first_name: Michel
full_name: Chapuisat, Michel
last_name: Chapuisat
- first_name: Jürgen
full_name: Heinze, Jürgen
last_name: Heinze
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: Tragust S, Ugelvig LV, Chapuisat M, Heinze J, Cremer S. Pupal cocoons affect
sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in ant colonies. BMC Evolutionary
Biology. 2013;13(1). doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-225
apa: Tragust, S., Ugelvig, L. V., Chapuisat, M., Heinze, J., & Cremer, S. (2013).
Pupal cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in ant colonies.
BMC Evolutionary Biology. BioMed Central. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-13-225
chicago: Tragust, Simon, Line V Ugelvig, Michel Chapuisat, Jürgen Heinze, and Sylvia
Cremer. “Pupal Cocoons Affect Sanitary Brood Care and Limit Fungal Infections
in Ant Colonies.” BMC Evolutionary Biology. BioMed Central, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-13-225.
ieee: S. Tragust, L. V. Ugelvig, M. Chapuisat, J. Heinze, and S. Cremer, “Pupal
cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in ant colonies,”
BMC Evolutionary Biology, vol. 13, no. 1. BioMed Central, 2013.
ista: Tragust S, Ugelvig LV, Chapuisat M, Heinze J, Cremer S. 2013. Pupal cocoons
affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in ant colonies. BMC Evolutionary
Biology. 13(1), 225.
mla: Tragust, Simon, et al. “Pupal Cocoons Affect Sanitary Brood Care and Limit
Fungal Infections in Ant Colonies.” BMC Evolutionary Biology, vol. 13,
no. 1, 225, BioMed Central, 2013, doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-225.
short: S. Tragust, L.V. Ugelvig, M. Chapuisat, J. Heinze, S. Cremer, BMC Evolutionary
Biology 13 (2013).
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:56:46Z
date_published: 2013-10-14T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-02-23T14:07:06Z
day: '14'
ddc:
- '570'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-225
ec_funded: 1
file:
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checksum: c16ef36f2a10786a7885e19c4528d707
content_type: application/pdf
creator: system
date_created: 2018-12-12T10:13:41Z
date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:45:37Z
file_id: '5026'
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file_size: 281736
relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:45:37Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 13'
issue: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
- _id: 25DAF0B2-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
grant_number: CR-118/3-1
name: Host-Parasite Coevolution
publication: BMC Evolutionary Biology
publication_status: published
publisher: BioMed Central
publist_id: '4647'
pubrep_id: '402'
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
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title: Pupal cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in ant
colonies
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 13
year: '2013'
...
---
_id: '3242'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Due to the omnipresent risk of epidemics, insect societies have evolved sophisticated
disease defences at the individual and colony level. An intriguing yet little
understood phenomenon is that social contact to pathogen-exposed individuals reduces
susceptibility of previously naive nestmates to this pathogen. We tested whether
such social immunisation in Lasius ants against the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium
anisopliae is based on active upregulation of the immune system of nestmates following
contact to an infectious individual or passive protection via transfer of immune
effectors among group members—that is, active versus passive immunisation. We
found no evidence for involvement of passive immunisation via transfer of antimicrobials
among colony members. Instead, intensive allogrooming behaviour between naive
and pathogen-exposed ants before fungal conidia firmly attached to their cuticle
suggested passage of the pathogen from the exposed individuals to their nestmates.
By tracing fluorescence-labelled conidia we indeed detected frequent pathogen
transfer to the nestmates, where they caused low-level infections as revealed
by growth of small numbers of fungal colony forming units from their dissected
body content. These infections rarely led to death, but instead promoted an enhanced
ability to inhibit fungal growth and an active upregulation of immune genes involved
in antifungal defences (defensin and prophenoloxidase, PPO). Contrarily, there
was no upregulation of the gene cathepsin L, which is associated with antibacterial
and antiviral defences, and we found no increased antibacterial activity of nestmates
of fungus-exposed ants. This indicates that social immunisation after fungal exposure
is specific, similar to recent findings for individual-level immune priming in
invertebrates. Epidemiological modeling further suggests that active social immunisation
is adaptive, as it leads to faster elimination of the disease and lower death
rates than passive immunisation. Interestingly, humans have also utilised the
protective effect of low-level infections to fight smallpox by intentional transfer
of low pathogen doses (“variolation” or “inoculation”).
acknowledgement: Funding for this project was obtained by the German Research Foundation
DFG (http://www.dfg.de/en/index.jsp) as an Individual Research Grant (CR118/2-1
to SC) and the European Research Council (http://erc.europa.eu/) in form of two
ERC Starting Grants (ERC-2009-StG240371-SocialVaccines to SC and ERC-2010-StG259294-LatentCauses
to FJT). In addition, the Junge Akademie (Young Academy of the Berlin-Brandenburg
Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
(http://www.diejungeakademie.de/english/index.html) funded this joint Antnet project
of SC and FJT. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis,
decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
article_number: e1001300
author:
- first_name: Matthias
full_name: Konrad, Matthias
id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Konrad
- first_name: Meghan
full_name: Vyleta, Meghan
id: 418901AA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Vyleta
- first_name: Fabian
full_name: Theis, Fabian
last_name: Theis
- first_name: Miriam
full_name: Stock, Miriam
id: 42462816-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Stock
- first_name: Simon
full_name: Tragust, Simon
id: 35A7A418-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Tragust
- first_name: Martina
full_name: Klatt, Martina
id: E60F29C6-E9AE-11E9-AF6E-D190C7302F38
last_name: Klatt
- first_name: Verena
full_name: Drescher, Verena
last_name: Drescher
- first_name: Carsten
full_name: Marr, Carsten
last_name: Marr
- first_name: Line V
full_name: Ugelvig, Line V
id: 3DC97C8E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Ugelvig
orcid: 0000-0003-1832-8883
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: Konrad M, Vyleta M, Theis F, et al. Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes
active immunisation in ant colonies. PLoS Biology. 2012;10(4). doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001300
apa: Konrad, M., Vyleta, M., Theis, F., Stock, M., Tragust, S., Klatt, M., … Cremer,
S. (2012). Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in
ant colonies. PLoS Biology. Public Library of Science. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001300
chicago: Konrad, Matthias, Meghan Vyleta, Fabian Theis, Miriam Stock, Simon Tragust,
Martina Klatt, Verena Drescher, Carsten Marr, Line V Ugelvig, and Sylvia Cremer.
“Social Transfer of Pathogenic Fungus Promotes Active Immunisation in Ant Colonies.”
PLoS Biology. Public Library of Science, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001300.
ieee: M. Konrad et al., “Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active
immunisation in ant colonies,” PLoS Biology, vol. 10, no. 4. Public Library
of Science, 2012.
ista: Konrad M, Vyleta M, Theis F, Stock M, Tragust S, Klatt M, Drescher V, Marr
C, Ugelvig LV, Cremer S. 2012. Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active
immunisation in ant colonies. PLoS Biology. 10(4), e1001300.
mla: Konrad, Matthias, et al. “Social Transfer of Pathogenic Fungus Promotes Active
Immunisation in Ant Colonies.” PLoS Biology, vol. 10, no. 4, e1001300,
Public Library of Science, 2012, doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001300.
short: M. Konrad, M. Vyleta, F. Theis, M. Stock, S. Tragust, M. Klatt, V. Drescher,
C. Marr, L.V. Ugelvig, S. Cremer, PLoS Biology 10 (2012).
date_created: 2018-12-11T12:02:13Z
date_published: 2012-04-03T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-02-23T14:07:11Z
day: '03'
ddc:
- '570'
- '579'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001300
ec_funded: 1
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 4ebacefd9fbab5c68adf829124115fd1
content_type: application/pdf
creator: system
date_created: 2018-12-12T10:08:28Z
date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:46:04Z
file_id: '4689'
file_name: IST-2012-96-v1+1_journal.pbio.1001300.pdf
file_size: 674228
relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:46:04Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 10'
issue: '4'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '04'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: 25DAF0B2-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
grant_number: CR-118/3-1
name: Host-Parasite Coevolution
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
- _id: 25E0E184-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
name: Antnet
publication: PLoS Biology
publication_status: published
publisher: Public Library of Science
publist_id: '3434'
pubrep_id: '96'
quality_controlled: '1'
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scopus_import: 1
status: public
title: Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 10
year: '2012'
...