Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, D-97074, Würzburg, Germany.
Nat Commun. 2023 Dec 29;14(1):8446. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43885-w.
Infected wounds pose a major mortality risk in animals. Injuries are common in the ant Megaponera analis, which raids pugnacious prey. Here we show that M. analis can determine when wounds are infected and treat them accordingly. By applying a variety of antimicrobial compounds and proteins secreted from the metapleural gland to infected wounds, workers reduce the mortality of infected individuals by 90%. Chemical analyses showed that wound infection is associated with specific changes in the cuticular hydrocarbon profile, thereby likely allowing nestmates to diagnose the infection state of injured individuals and apply the appropriate antimicrobial treatment. This study demonstrates that M. analis ant societies use antimicrobial compounds produced in the metapleural glands to treat infected wounds and reduce nestmate mortality.
受感染的伤口会给动物带来重大的死亡风险。在攻击性猎物的蚂蚁 Megaponera analis 中，受伤很常见。在这里，我们表明 M. analis 可以判断伤口是否感染，并相应地进行治疗。工蚁通过向感染的伤口应用各种抗菌化合物和从侧腺分泌的蛋白质，将感染个体的死亡率降低了 90%。化学分析表明，伤口感染与角质层碳氢化合物谱的特定变化有关，因此可能允许巢内同伴诊断受伤个体的感染状态，并应用适当的抗菌治疗。这项研究表明，M. analis 蚁群使用侧腺产生的抗菌化合物来治疗感染的伤口，降低巢内同伴的死亡率。
