Kelleher Lily A, Ramalho Manuela O
Department of Biology, West Chester University, West Chester, PA, USA, 19383.
Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA, 43210.
Biol Open. 2025 Aug 15;14(8). doi: 10.1242/bio.062145.
Studies have shown that biodiversity will be impacted by global climate change, with the effect on ants just beginning to be documented. The influence on ant symbiotic bacterial communities remains understudied. Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853, are seed-dispersing ants in deciduous forests and their bacterial communities have just been uncovered; however, much is unknown. We aim to determine the impact that warming temperatures will have on Aphaenogaster survival and on their bacterial communities. Ants from four colonies were collected from West Chester, PA, USA and entire colonies were subjected to a control temperature (22°C). After 6-12 months, the same colonies were subjected to an experimental temperature (32°C). DNA was then extracted from ants of all development stages and the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced following the NGS amplicon approach. The findings revealed that Aphaenogaster ant mortality rates increased, and their symbiotic bacterial communities changed in warmer temperatures. This resulted in a decrease in the presence of Wolbachia spp. and an increase in the presence of Corynebacterium sp. This study reveals important information about the impact of warming temperature on Aphaenogaster ants, and we suggest methods to help protect these ants and other insects in the future.
研究表明，生物多样性将受到全球气候变化的影响，而对蚂蚁的影响才刚刚开始有文献记载。对蚂蚁共生细菌群落的影响仍未得到充分研究。1853年的长结蚁属（Aphaenogaster Mayr）是落叶林中传播种子的蚂蚁，其细菌群落刚刚被发现；然而，仍有许多未知之处。我们旨在确定气温升高对长结蚁属蚂蚁的生存及其细菌群落的影响。从美国宾夕法尼亚州韦斯特切斯特收集了来自四个蚁群的蚂蚁，并将整个蚁群置于控制温度（22°C）下。6至12个月后，将相同的蚁群置于实验温度（32°C）下。然后从所有发育阶段的蚂蚁中提取DNA，并按照NGS扩增子方法对16S rRNA基因进行扩增和测序。研究结果表明，在温度较高的情况下，长结蚁属蚂蚁的死亡率增加，其共生细菌群落也发生了变化。这导致沃尔巴克氏体属（Wolbachia spp.）的存在减少，棒状杆菌属（Corynebacterium sp.）的存在增加。这项研究揭示了有关气温升高对长结蚁属蚂蚁影响的重要信息，并且我们提出了未来帮助保护这些蚂蚁和其他昆虫的方法。
