Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
Key Laboratory of Termite Control of Ministry of Water Resources, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
J Econ Entomol. 2024 Jun 10;117(3):825-833. doi: 10.1093/jee/toae068.
In an ant colony, a large number of nestmates with a similar gene pool coexist, making them more vulnerable to pathogenic attacks. These pathogens influence the behavior and physiology of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta Buren. Here, we evaluated the impact of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) Metarhizium anisopliae on the behavior (locomotion and foraging) and physiology (biological molecules, anti-fungal activity, and survival) of S. invicta. Distance traveled and velocity significantly decreased, while turn angle and angular velocity significantly increased in ants exposed to a higher concentration of M. anisopliae compared to ants exposed to control after 36 h, which showed disturbed locomotion. Fungus infection significantly affected the foraging behavior of ants. Fungus-exposed ants spent significantly less time in the food zone (area with food) than in the inner zone (area without food). The activities of 4 enzymes, peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and carboxylesterase were significantly decreased. In contrast, catalase and anti-fungal activities were increased after fungal exposure compared to the control. The activity of acetylcholinesterase, which hydrolyses the important neurotransmitter acetylcholine, also decreased after fungal application compared to the control. Survival of ants was also significantly reduced after fungus infection compared to the control. Our findings help to understand the influence of M. anisopliae on the behavior and physiology of S. invicta, which will help in the management of S. invicta using the EPF M. anisopliae.
在蚁群中，大量具有相似基因库的同巢个体共存，这使它们更容易受到病原体的攻击。这些病原体影响红火蚁 Solenopsis invicta Buren 的行为和生理机能。在这里，我们评估了昆虫病原真菌（EPF）绿僵菌对红火蚁行为（运动和觅食）和生理机能（生物分子、抗真菌活性和生存）的影响。与对照相比，暴露于较高浓度绿僵菌的蚂蚁在 36 小时后，行进距离和速度显著降低，而转弯角度和角速度显著增加，这表明运动受到干扰。真菌感染显著影响蚂蚁的觅食行为。暴露于真菌的蚂蚁在食物区（有食物的区域）的停留时间明显少于内区（没有食物的区域）。4 种酶的活性，过氧化物酶、谷胱甘肽-S-转移酶、过氧化氢（H2O2）和羧酸酯酶显著降低。相比之下，与对照相比，暴露于真菌后过氧化氢酶和抗真菌活性增加。水解重要神经递质乙酰胆碱的乙酰胆碱酯酶的活性在真菌处理后也比对照下降。与对照相比，感染真菌后蚂蚁的存活率也显著降低。我们的研究结果有助于了解绿僵菌对红火蚁行为和生理机能的影响，这将有助于利用 EPF 绿僵菌来管理红火蚁。
