Guerrieri Fernando J, d'Ettorre Patrizia
Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
J Exp Biol. 2008 Apr;211(Pt 7):1109-13. doi: 10.1242/jeb.008508.
Social insects have evolved efficient recognition systems guaranteeing social cohesion and protection from enemies. To defend their territories and threaten non-nestmate intruders, ants open their mandibles as a first aggressive display. Albeit chemical cues play a major role in discrimination between nestmates and non-nestmates, classical bioassays based on aggressive behaviour were not particularly effective in disentangling chemical perception and behavioural components of nestmate recognition by means of categorical variables. We therefore developed a novel bioassay that accurately isolates chemical perception from other cues. We studied four ant species: Camponotus herculeanus, C. vagus, Formica rufibarbis and F. cunicularia. Chemical analyses of cuticular extracts of workers of these four species showed that they varied in the number and identity of compounds and that species of the same genus have more similar profiles. The antennae of harnessed ants were touched with a glass rod coated with the cuticular extract of (a) nestmates, (b) non-nestmates of the same species, (c) another species of the same genus and (d) a species of a different genus. The mandible opening response (MOR) was recorded as the aggressive response. In all assayed species, MOR significantly differed among stimuli, being weakest towards nestmate odour and strongest towards odours originating from ants of a different genus. We thus introduce here a new procedure suitable for studying the chemical basis of aggression in ants.
群居昆虫进化出了高效的识别系统，以确保社会凝聚力并抵御敌人。为了保卫领地并威慑非巢友入侵者，蚂蚁会张开下颚作为首要的攻击表现。尽管化学信号在区分巢友和非巢友方面起着主要作用，但基于攻击行为的传统生物测定法在通过分类变量来区分巢友识别的化学感知和行为成分方面并不是特别有效。因此，我们开发了一种新的生物测定法，能够准确地将化学感知与其他信号区分开来。我们研究了四种蚂蚁： Hercules 木工蚁、 vagus 木工蚁、红褐林蚁和掘穴蚁。对这四种蚂蚁工蚁体表提取物的化学分析表明，它们在化合物的数量和种类上存在差异，并且同一属的蚂蚁具有更相似的特征。用涂有（a）巢友、（b）同物种非巢友、（c）同一属的另一种蚂蚁和（d）不同属的一种蚂蚁体表提取物的玻璃棒触碰被束缚蚂蚁的触角。将下颚张开反应（MOR）记录为攻击反应。在所有被测物种中，不同刺激下的MOR存在显著差异，对巢友气味的反应最弱，对来自不同属蚂蚁的气味反应最强。因此，我们在此介绍一种适用于研究蚂蚁攻击行为化学基础的新方法。
