Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Turin, Italy.
Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology (LEEC), UR4443, University Sorbonne Paris Nord, 93430 Villetaneuse, France.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Sep 27;25(19):10407. doi: 10.3390/ijms251910407.
Ant evolutionary success depends mainly on the coordination of colony members, who recognize nestmates based on the cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile of their epicuticle. While several studies have examined variations in this crucial factor for colony identity, few have investigated the anthropic impact on CHC profiles, and none have focused on . Here, we surveyed the changes in CHC assemblages across agroecosystems and assessed whether different vineyard management influences these profiles. Soil sampling within ant nests and in close surroundings was performed to measure microhabitat variations. Our results show that the cuticular chemical composition of is mainly affected by the differences between areas, with an existing but unclear anthropic influence on them. Normalized soil respiration partially explains these interarea variations. Irrespective of the conventional or organic management, human activities in agroecosystems mostly impacted linear alkanes, a specific class of CHCs known to play a major role against dehydration, but also affected the abundance of compounds that can be pivotal for maintaining the colony identity. Our findings suggest that vineyard practices primarily affect features of the ant cuticle, potentially enhancing microclimate adaptations. Still, the potential effects as disruptive factors need further investigation through the implementation of behavioral bioassays.
蚂蚁的进化成功主要取决于蚁群成员的协调，它们根据表皮的角质层烃 (CHC) 图谱来识别同巢个体。虽然有几项研究调查了蚁群身份的这一关键因素的变化，但很少有研究调查人为因素对 CHC 图谱的影响，也没有研究关注 。在这里，我们调查了农业生态系统中 CHC 组合的变化，并评估了不同的葡萄园管理是否会影响这些图谱。在蚁巢及其周围环境中进行土壤采样以测量微生境变化。我们的结果表明， 的表皮化学成分主要受到地区差异的影响，尽管存在但不清楚的人为影响。归一化土壤呼吸部分解释了这些地区间的变化。无论采用传统管理还是有机管理，农业生态系统中的人类活动主要影响线性烷烃，这是一类已知在对抗脱水方面发挥重要作用的 CHC，但也影响了可能对维持蚁群身份至关重要的化合物的丰度。我们的研究结果表明，葡萄园的做法主要影响蚂蚁的表皮特征，可能增强了微气候的适应能力。然而，作为破坏因素的潜在影响需要通过实施行为生物测定进一步研究。
