Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2907 Lake Austin Boulevard, Austin, TX 78703, USA.
Science. 2014 Feb 28;343(6174):1014-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1245833. Epub 2014 Feb 13.
As tawny crazy ants (Nylanderia fulva) invade the southern United States, they often displace imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta). After exposure to S. invicta venom, N. fulva applies abdominal exocrine gland secretions to its cuticle. Bioassays reveal that these secretions detoxify S. invicta venom. Further, formic acid from N. fulva venom is the detoxifying agent. N. fulva exhibits this detoxification behavior after conflict with a variety of ant species; however, it expresses it most intensely after interactions with S. invicta. This behavior may have evolved in their shared South American native range. The capacity to detoxify a major competitor's venom probably contributes substantially to its ability to displace S. invicta populations, making this behavior a causative agent in the ecological transformation of regional arthropod assemblages.
当棕黄色疯蚁（Nylanderia fulva）入侵美国南部时，它们经常取代入侵红火蚁（Solenopsis invicta）。在接触红火蚁毒液后，棕黄色疯蚁会将腹部外分泌腺的分泌物涂在其外骨骼上。生物测定显示，这些分泌物可以解毒红火蚁毒液。此外，棕黄色疯蚁毒液中的甲酸是解毒剂。棕黄色疯蚁在与各种蚂蚁物种发生冲突后会表现出这种解毒行为；然而，当与红火蚁发生相互作用时，它表现出最强烈的解毒行为。这种行为可能是在它们共同的南美原生范围内进化而来的。解毒主要竞争者毒液的能力可能极大地促进了它取代红火蚁种群的能力，使这种行为成为区域节肢动物组合生态转化的原因之一。
