Ferguson Stephen T, Bakis Isaac, Edwards Nicholas D, Zwiebel Laurence J
Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
Insects. 2023 Aug 23;14(9):724. doi: 10.3390/insects14090724.
Age-related changes in behavior and sensory perception have been observed in a wide variety of animal species. In ants and other eusocial insects, workers often progress through an ordered sequence of olfactory-driven behavioral tasks. Notably, these behaviors are plastic, and workers adapt and rapidly switch tasks in response to changing environmental conditions. In the Florida carpenter ant, smaller minors typically perform most of the work needed to maintain the colony, while the larger majors are specialized for nest defense and rarely engage in these routine tasks. Here, we investigate the effects of age and task group on olfactory responses to a series of odorant blends in minor and major worker castes. Consistent with their respective roles within the colony, we observed significant age-associated shifts in the olfactory responses of minors as they transitioned between behavioral states, whereas the responses of majors remained consistently low regardless of age. Furthermore, we have identified a unitary compound, 3-methylindole, which elicited significantly higher responses and behavioral aversion in minor nurses than in similarly aged foragers suggesting that this compound may play an important role in brood care. Taken together, our results suggest that age- and task-associated shifts in olfactory physiology may play a critical role in the social organization of ant colonies.
在各种各样的动物物种中都观察到了与年龄相关的行为和感官知觉变化。在蚂蚁和其他群居昆虫中，工蚁通常会按顺序完成一系列由嗅觉驱动的行为任务。值得注意的是，这些行为具有可塑性，工蚁会根据环境条件的变化进行适应并迅速切换任务。在佛罗里达木匠蚁中，体型较小的小工蚁通常承担维持蚁群所需的大部分工作，而体型较大的大兵蚁则专门负责巢穴防御，很少参与这些日常任务。在这里，我们研究了年龄和任务组对小工蚁和大兵蚁对一系列气味混合物的嗅觉反应的影响。与它们在蚁群中的各自角色一致，我们观察到小工蚁在行为状态转变时，其嗅觉反应出现了与年龄相关的显著变化，而大兵蚁的反应无论年龄如何都一直很低。此外，我们确定了一种单一化合物3-甲基吲哚，与年龄相仿的觅食者相比，它在小护理蚁中引发了更高的反应和行为厌恶，这表明这种化合物可能在育幼过程中发挥重要作用。综上所述，我们的结果表明，嗅觉生理中与年龄和任务相关的变化可能在蚁群的社会组织中起关键作用。
