--- _id: '413' abstract: - lang: eng text: Being cared for when sick is a benefit of sociality that can reduce disease and improve survival of group members. However, individuals providing care risk contracting infectious diseases themselves. If they contract a low pathogen dose, they may develop low-level infections that do not cause disease but still affect host immunity by either decreasing or increasing the host’s vulnerability to subsequent infections. Caring for contagious individuals can thus significantly alter the future disease susceptibility of caregivers. Using ants and their fungal pathogens as a model system, we tested if the altered disease susceptibility of experienced caregivers, in turn, affects their expression of sanitary care behavior. We found that low-level infections contracted during sanitary care had protective or neutral effects on secondary exposure to the same (homologous) pathogen but consistently caused high mortality on superinfection with a different (heterologous) pathogen. In response to this risk, the ants selectively adjusted the expression of their sanitary care. Specifically, the ants performed less grooming and more antimicrobial disinfection when caring for nestmates contaminated with heterologous pathogens compared with homologous ones. By modulating the components of sanitary care in this way the ants acquired less infectious particles of the heterologous pathogens, resulting in reduced superinfection. The performance of risk-adjusted sanitary care reveals the remarkable capacity of ants to react to changes in their disease susceptibility, according to their own infection history and to flexibly adjust collective care to individual risk. article_processing_charge: No author: - first_name: Matthias full_name: Konrad, Matthias id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Konrad - first_name: Christopher full_name: Pull, Christopher id: 3C7F4840-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Pull orcid: 0000-0003-1122-3982 - first_name: Sina full_name: Metzler, Sina id: 48204546-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Metzler orcid: 0000-0002-9547-2494 - first_name: Katharina full_name: Seif, Katharina id: 90F7894A-02CF-11E9-976E-E38CFE5CBC1D last_name: Seif - first_name: Elisabeth full_name: Naderlinger, Elisabeth id: 31757262-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Naderlinger - first_name: Anna V full_name: Grasse, Anna V id: 406F989C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Grasse - first_name: Sylvia full_name: Cremer, Sylvia id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Cremer orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868 citation: ama: Konrad M, Pull C, Metzler S, et al. Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care. PNAS. 2018;115(11):2782-2787. doi:10.1073/pnas.1713501115 apa: Konrad, M., Pull, C., Metzler, S., Seif, K., Naderlinger, E., Grasse, A. V., & Cremer, S. (2018). Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care. PNAS. National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1713501115 chicago: Konrad, Matthias, Christopher Pull, Sina Metzler, Katharina Seif, Elisabeth Naderlinger, Anna V Grasse, and Sylvia Cremer. “Ants Avoid Superinfections by Performing Risk-Adjusted Sanitary Care.” PNAS. National Academy of Sciences, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1713501115. ieee: M. Konrad et al., “Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care,” PNAS, vol. 115, no. 11. National Academy of Sciences, pp. 2782–2787, 2018. ista: Konrad M, Pull C, Metzler S, Seif K, Naderlinger E, Grasse AV, Cremer S. 2018. Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care. PNAS. 115(11), 2782–2787. mla: Konrad, Matthias, et al. “Ants Avoid Superinfections by Performing Risk-Adjusted Sanitary Care.” PNAS, vol. 115, no. 11, National Academy of Sciences, 2018, pp. 2782–87, doi:10.1073/pnas.1713501115. short: M. Konrad, C. Pull, S. Metzler, K. Seif, E. Naderlinger, A.V. Grasse, S. Cremer, PNAS 115 (2018) 2782–2787. date_created: 2018-12-11T11:46:20Z date_published: 2018-03-13T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2023-09-08T13:22:21Z day: '13' department: - _id: SyCr doi: 10.1073/pnas.1713501115 ec_funded: 1 external_id: isi: - '000427245400069' pmid: - '29463746' intvolume: ' 115' isi: 1 issue: '11' language: - iso: eng main_file_link: - open_access: '1' url: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29463746 month: '03' oa: 1 oa_version: Published Version page: 2782 - 2787 pmid: 1 project: - _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425 call_identifier: FP7 grant_number: '243071' name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society Effects' publication: PNAS publication_status: published publisher: National Academy of Sciences publist_id: '7416' quality_controlled: '1' related_material: link: - description: News on IST Homepage relation: press_release url: https://ist.ac.at/en/news/helping-in-spite-of-risk-ants-perform-risk-averse-sanitary-care-of-infectious-nest-mates/ scopus_import: '1' status: public title: Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care type: journal_article user_id: c635000d-4b10-11ee-a964-aac5a93f6ac1 volume: 115 year: '2018' ... --- _id: '1993' abstract: - lang: eng text: 'The fitness effects of symbionts on their hosts can be context-dependent, with usually benign symbionts causing detrimental effects when their hosts are stressed, or typically parasitic symbionts providing protection towards their hosts (e.g. against pathogen infection). Here, we studied the novel association between the invasive garden ant Lasius neglectus and its fungal ectosymbiont Laboulbenia formicarum for potential costs and benefits. We tested ants with different Laboulbenia levels for their survival and immunity under resource limitation and exposure to the obligate killing entomopathogen Metarhizium brunneum. While survival of L. neglectus workers under starvation was significantly decreased with increasing Laboulbenia levels, host survival under Metarhizium exposure increased with higher levels of the ectosymbiont, suggesting a symbiont-mediated anti-pathogen protection, which seems to be driven mechanistically by both improved sanitary behaviours and an upregulated immune system. Ants with high Laboulbenia levels showed significantly longer self-grooming and elevated expression of immune genes relevant for wound repair and antifungal responses (β-1,3-glucan binding protein, Prophenoloxidase), compared with ants carrying low Laboulbenia levels. This suggests that the ectosymbiont Laboulbenia formicarum weakens its ant host by either direct resource exploitation or the costs of an upregulated behavioural and immunological response, which, however, provides a prophylactic protection upon later exposure to pathogens. ' acknowledged_ssus: - _id: EM-Fac acknowledgement: "Funding was obtained by the German Research Foundation (CR 118–2) and an ERC StG (243071) by the European Research Council (both to S.C.).\r\nWe thank Line V. Ugelvig for help with ant collection and statistical discussion, Xavier Espadaler for detailed information on the ant collection site, Birgit Lautenschläger for the electron microscopy images and Eva Sixt for ant drawings. We further thank Jørgen Eilenberg for the fungal strain, Meghan L. Vyleta for genetic strain characterization and immune gene primer development, Paul Schmid-Hempel for discussion, and Line V. Ugelvig, Xavier Espadaler and Christopher D. Pull for comments on the manuscript. S.C., M.K. and S.T. conceived the study; M.K. and A.V.G. performed the experiments; M.K. performed the statistical analysis; S.C. and M.K. wrote the manuscript with intense contributions of A.V.G. and S.T.; all authors approved the manuscript." article_number: '20141976' article_processing_charge: No article_type: original author: - first_name: Matthias full_name: Konrad, Matthias id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Konrad - first_name: Anna V full_name: Grasse, Anna V id: 406F989C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Grasse - first_name: Simon full_name: Tragust, Simon id: 35A7A418-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Tragust - first_name: Sylvia full_name: Cremer, Sylvia id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Cremer orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868 citation: ama: Konrad M, Grasse AV, Tragust S, Cremer S. Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences. 2015;282(1799). doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.1976 apa: Konrad, M., Grasse, A. V., Tragust, S., & Cremer, S. (2015). Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences. The Royal Society. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1976 chicago: Konrad, Matthias, Anna V Grasse, Simon Tragust, and Sylvia Cremer. “Anti-Pathogen Protection versus Survival Costs Mediated by an Ectosymbiont in an Ant Host.” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences. The Royal Society, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1976. ieee: M. Konrad, A. V. Grasse, S. Tragust, and S. Cremer, “Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host,” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences, vol. 282, no. 1799. The Royal Society, 2015. ista: Konrad M, Grasse AV, Tragust S, Cremer S. 2015. Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences. 282(1799), 20141976. mla: Konrad, Matthias, et al. “Anti-Pathogen Protection versus Survival Costs Mediated by an Ectosymbiont in an Ant Host.” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences, vol. 282, no. 1799, 20141976, The Royal Society, 2015, doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.1976. short: M. Konrad, A.V. Grasse, S. Tragust, S. Cremer, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences 282 (2015). date_created: 2018-12-11T11:55:06Z date_published: 2015-01-22T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2023-02-23T14:06:41Z day: '22' department: - _id: SyCr doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1976 ec_funded: 1 external_id: pmid: - '25473011' intvolume: ' 282' issue: '1799' language: - iso: eng main_file_link: - open_access: '1' url: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4286035/ month: '01' oa: 1 oa_version: Submitted Version pmid: 1 project: - _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425 call_identifier: FP7 grant_number: '243071' name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society Effects' - _id: 25DAF0B2-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425 grant_number: CR-118/3-1 name: Host-Parasite Coevolution publication: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences publication_identifier: eissn: - 1471-2954 issn: - 0962-8452 publication_status: published publisher: The Royal Society publist_id: '5090' quality_controlled: '1' related_material: record: - id: '9740' relation: research_data status: public scopus_import: '1' status: public title: Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host type: journal_article user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 volume: 282 year: '2015' ... --- _id: '9740' abstract: - lang: eng text: The fitness effects of symbionts on their hosts can be context-dependent, with usually benign symbionts causing detrimental effects when their hosts are stressed, or typically parasitic symbionts providing protection towards their hosts (e.g. against pathogen infection). Here, we studied the novel association between the invasive garden ant Lasius neglectus and its fungal ectosymbiont Laboulbenia formicarum for potential costs and benefits. We tested ants with different Laboulbenia levels for their survival and immunity under resource limitation and exposure to the obligate killing entomopathogen Metarhizium brunneum. While survival of L. neglectus workers under starvation was significantly decreased with increasing Laboulbenia levels, host survival under Metarhizium exposure increased with higher levels of the ectosymbiont, suggesting a symbiont-mediated anti-pathogen protection, which seems to be driven mechanistically by both improved sanitary behaviours and an upregulated immune system. Ants with high Laboulbenia levels showed significantly longer self-grooming and elevated expression of immune genes relevant for wound repair and antifungal responses (β-1,3-glucan binding protein, Prophenoloxidase), compared with ants carrying low Laboulbenia levels. This suggests that the ectosymbiont Laboulbenia formicarum weakens its ant host by either direct resource exploitation or the costs of an upregulated behavioural and immunological response, which, however, provides a prophylactic protection upon later exposure to pathogens. article_processing_charge: No author: - first_name: Matthias full_name: Konrad, Matthias id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Konrad - first_name: Anna V full_name: Grasse, Anna V id: 406F989C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Grasse - first_name: Simon full_name: Tragust, Simon id: 35A7A418-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Tragust - first_name: Sylvia full_name: Cremer, Sylvia id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Cremer orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868 citation: ama: 'Konrad M, Grasse AV, Tragust S, Cremer S. Data from: Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host. 2014. doi:10.5061/dryad.vm0vc' apa: 'Konrad, M., Grasse, A. V., Tragust, S., & Cremer, S. (2014). Data from: Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vm0vc' chicago: 'Konrad, Matthias, Anna V Grasse, Simon Tragust, and Sylvia Cremer. “Data from: Anti-Pathogen Protection versus Survival Costs Mediated by an Ectosymbiont in an Ant Host.” Dryad, 2014. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vm0vc.' ieee: 'M. Konrad, A. V. Grasse, S. Tragust, and S. Cremer, “Data from: Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host.” Dryad, 2014.' ista: 'Konrad M, Grasse AV, Tragust S, Cremer S. 2014. Data from: Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host, Dryad, 10.5061/dryad.vm0vc.' mla: 'Konrad, Matthias, et al. Data from: Anti-Pathogen Protection versus Survival Costs Mediated by an Ectosymbiont in an Ant Host. Dryad, 2014, doi:10.5061/dryad.vm0vc.' short: M. Konrad, A.V. Grasse, S. Tragust, S. Cremer, (2014). date_created: 2021-07-28T08:38:40Z date_published: 2014-11-13T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2023-02-23T10:23:32Z day: '13' department: - _id: SyCr doi: 10.5061/dryad.vm0vc main_file_link: - open_access: '1' url: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vm0vc month: '11' oa: 1 oa_version: Published Version publisher: Dryad related_material: record: - id: '1993' relation: used_in_publication status: public status: public title: 'Data from: Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host' type: research_data_reference user_id: 6785fbc1-c503-11eb-8a32-93094b40e1cf year: '2014' ... --- _id: '1395' abstract: - lang: eng text: In this thesis I studied various individual and social immune defences employed by the invasive garden ant Lasius neglectus mostly against entomopathogenic fungi. The first two chapters of this thesis address the phenomenon of 'social immunisation'. Social immunisation, that is the immunological protection of group members due to social contact to a pathogen-exposed nestmate, has been described in various social insect species against different types of pathogens. However, in the case of entomopathogenic fungi it has, so far, only been demonstrated that social immunisation exists at all. Its underlying mechanisms r any other properties were, however, unknown. In the first chapter of this thesis I identified the mechanistic basis of social immunisation in L. neglectus against the entomopathogenous fungus Metarhizium. I could show that nestmates of a pathogen-exposed individual contract low-level infections due to social interactions. These low-level infections are, however, non-lethal and cause an active stimulation of the immune system, which protects the nestmates upon subsequent pathogen encounters. In the second chapter of this thesis I investigated the specificity and colony level effects of social immunisation. I demonstrated that the protection conferred by social immunisation is highly specific, protecting ants only against the same pathogen strain. In addition, depending on the respective context, social immunisation may even cause fitness costs. I further showed that social immunisation crucially affects sanitary behaviour and disease dynamics within ant groups. In the third chapter of this thesis I studied the effects of the ectosymbiotic fungus Laboulbenia formicarum on its host L. neglectus. Although Laboulbeniales are the largest order of insect-parasitic fungi, research concerning host fitness consequence is sparse. I showed that highly Laboulbenia-infected ants sustain fitness costs under resource limitation, however, gain fitness benefits when exposed to an entomopathogenus fungus. These effects are probably cause by a prophylactic upregulation of behavioural as well as physiological immune defences in highly infected ants. alternative_title: - ISTA Thesis article_processing_charge: No author: - first_name: Matthias full_name: Konrad, Matthias id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Konrad citation: ama: 'Konrad M. Immune defences in ants: Effects of social immunisation and a fungal ectosymbiont in the ant Lasius neglectus. 2014.' apa: 'Konrad, M. (2014). Immune defences in ants: Effects of social immunisation and a fungal ectosymbiont in the ant Lasius neglectus. Institute of Science and Technology Austria.' chicago: 'Konrad, Matthias. “Immune Defences in Ants: Effects of Social Immunisation and a Fungal Ectosymbiont in the Ant Lasius Neglectus.” Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2014.' ieee: 'M. Konrad, “Immune defences in ants: Effects of social immunisation and a fungal ectosymbiont in the ant Lasius neglectus,” Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2014.' ista: 'Konrad M. 2014. Immune defences in ants: Effects of social immunisation and a fungal ectosymbiont in the ant Lasius neglectus. Institute of Science and Technology Austria.' mla: 'Konrad, Matthias. Immune Defences in Ants: Effects of Social Immunisation and a Fungal Ectosymbiont in the Ant Lasius Neglectus. Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2014.' short: 'M. Konrad, Immune Defences in Ants: Effects of Social Immunisation and a Fungal Ectosymbiont in the Ant Lasius Neglectus, Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2014.' date_created: 2018-12-11T11:51:46Z date_published: 2014-02-01T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2023-09-07T11:38:56Z day: '01' degree_awarded: PhD department: - _id: SyCr language: - iso: eng month: '02' oa_version: None page: '131' publication_identifier: issn: - 2663-337X publication_status: published publisher: Institute of Science and Technology Austria publist_id: '5814' status: public supervisor: - first_name: Sylvia M full_name: Cremer, Sylvia M id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Cremer orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868 title: 'Immune defences in ants: Effects of social immunisation and a fungal ectosymbiont in the ant Lasius neglectus' type: dissertation user_id: c635000d-4b10-11ee-a964-aac5a93f6ac1 year: '2014' ... --- _id: '2926' abstract: - lang: eng text: To fight infectious diseases, host immune defenses are employed at multiple levels. Sanitary behavior, such as pathogen avoidance and removal, acts as a first line of defense to prevent infection [1] before activation of the physiological immune system. Insect societies have evolved a wide range of collective hygiene measures and intensive health care toward pathogen-exposed group members [2]. One of the most common behaviors is allogrooming, in which nestmates remove infectious particles from the body surfaces of exposed individuals [3]. Here we show that, in invasive garden ants, grooming of fungus-exposed brood is effective beyond the sheer mechanical removal of fungal conidiospores; it also includes chemical disinfection through the application of poison produced by the ants themselves. Formic acid is the main active component of the poison. It inhibits fungal growth of conidiospores remaining on the brood surface after grooming and also those collected in the mouth of the grooming ant. This dual function is achieved by uptake of the poison droplet into the mouth through acidopore self-grooming and subsequent application onto the infectious brood via brood grooming. This extraordinary behavior extends the current understanding of grooming and the establishment of social immunity in insect societies. acknowledgement: "Funding for this project was obtained by the German Research Foundation (DFG, to S.C.) and the European Research Council (ERC, through an ERC-Starting Grant to S.C. and an Individual Marie Curie IEF fellowship to L.V.U.).\r\nWe thank Jørgen Eilenberg, Bernhardt Steinwender, Miriam Stock, and Meghan L. Vyleta for the fungal strain and its characterization; Volker Witte for chemical information; Eva Sixt for ant drawings; and Robert Hauschild for help with image analysis. We further thank Martin Kaltenpoth, Michael Sixt, Jürgen Heinze, and Joachim Ruther for discussion and Daria Siekhaus, Sophie A.O. Armitage, and Leila Masri for comments on the manuscript. \r\n" author: - first_name: Simon full_name: Tragust, Simon id: 35A7A418-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Tragust - first_name: Barbara full_name: Mitteregger, Barbara id: 479DDAAC-E9CD-11E9-9B5F-82450873F7A1 last_name: Mitteregger - first_name: Vanessa full_name: Barone, Vanessa id: 419EECCC-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Barone orcid: 0000-0003-2676-3367 - first_name: Matthias full_name: Konrad, Matthias id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Konrad - first_name: Line V full_name: Ugelvig, Line V id: 3DC97C8E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Ugelvig orcid: 0000-0003-1832-8883 - first_name: Sylvia full_name: Cremer, Sylvia id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Cremer orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868 citation: ama: Tragust S, Mitteregger B, Barone V, Konrad M, Ugelvig LV, Cremer S. Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison. Current Biology. 2013;23(1):76-82. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.034 apa: Tragust, S., Mitteregger, B., Barone, V., Konrad, M., Ugelvig, L. V., & Cremer, S. (2013). Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison. Current Biology. Cell Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.034 chicago: Tragust, Simon, Barbara Mitteregger, Vanessa Barone, Matthias Konrad, Line V Ugelvig, and Sylvia Cremer. “Ants Disinfect Fungus-Exposed Brood by Oral Uptake and Spread of Their Poison.” Current Biology. Cell Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.034. ieee: S. Tragust, B. Mitteregger, V. Barone, M. Konrad, L. V. Ugelvig, and S. Cremer, “Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison,” Current Biology, vol. 23, no. 1. Cell Press, pp. 76–82, 2013. ista: Tragust S, Mitteregger B, Barone V, Konrad M, Ugelvig LV, Cremer S. 2013. Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison. Current Biology. 23(1), 76–82. mla: Tragust, Simon, et al. “Ants Disinfect Fungus-Exposed Brood by Oral Uptake and Spread of Their Poison.” Current Biology, vol. 23, no. 1, Cell Press, 2013, pp. 76–82, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.034. short: S. Tragust, B. Mitteregger, V. Barone, M. Konrad, L.V. Ugelvig, S. Cremer, Current Biology 23 (2013) 76–82. date_created: 2018-12-11T12:00:23Z date_published: 2013-01-07T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2023-09-07T12:05:08Z day: '07' department: - _id: SyCr - _id: CaHe doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.034 ec_funded: 1 intvolume: ' 23' issue: '1' language: - iso: eng month: '01' oa_version: None page: 76 - 82 project: - _id: 25DAF0B2-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425 grant_number: CR-118/3-1 name: Host-Parasite Coevolution - _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425 call_identifier: FP7 grant_number: '243071' name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society Effects' - _id: 25DDF0F0-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425 call_identifier: FP7 grant_number: '302004' name: 'Pathogen Detectors Collective disease defence and pathogen detection abilities in ant societies: a chemo-neuro-immunological approach' publication: Current Biology publication_status: published publisher: Cell Press publist_id: '3811' quality_controlled: '1' related_material: record: - id: '9757' relation: research_data status: public - id: '961' relation: dissertation_contains status: public scopus_import: 1 status: public title: Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison type: journal_article user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 volume: 23 year: '2013' ... --- _id: '3132' abstract: - lang: eng text: 'Reproductive division of labour is a characteristic trait of social insects. The dominant reproductive individual, often the queen, uses chemical communication and/or behaviour to maintain her social status. Queens of many social insects communicate their fertility status via cuticle-bound substances. As these substances usually possess a low volatility, their range in queen–worker communication is potentially limited. Here, we investigate the range and impact of behavioural and chemical queen signals on workers of the ant Temnothorax longispinosus. We compared the behaviour and ovary development of workers subjected to three different treatments: workers with direct chemical and physical contact to the queen, those solely under the influence of volatile queen substances and those entirely separated from the queen. In addition to short-ranged queen signals preventing ovary development in workers, we discovered a novel secondary pathway influencing worker behaviour. Workers with no physical contact to the queen, but exposed to volatile substances, started to develop their ovaries, but did not change their behaviour compared to workers in direct contact to the queen. In contrast, workers in queen-separated groups showed both increased ovary development and aggressive dominance interactions. We conclude that T. longispinosus queens influence worker ovary development and behaviour via two independent signals, both ensuring social harmony within the colony.' acknowledgement: We like to thank the editor and three anonymous reviewers for their time and constructive criticism and Inon Scharf, Volker Witte and Andreas Modlmeier for helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. The first and second authors appear in alphabetical order and contributed equally to this paper. author: - first_name: Matthias full_name: Konrad, Matthias id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Konrad - first_name: Tobias full_name: Pamminger, Tobias last_name: Pamminger - first_name: Susanne full_name: Foitzik, Susanne last_name: Foitzik citation: ama: Konrad M, Pamminger T, Foitzik S. Two pathways ensuring social harmony. Naturwissenschaften. 2012;99(8):627-636. doi:10.1007/s00114-012-0943-z apa: Konrad, M., Pamminger, T., & Foitzik, S. (2012). Two pathways ensuring social harmony. Naturwissenschaften. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-012-0943-z chicago: Konrad, Matthias, Tobias Pamminger, and Susanne Foitzik. “Two Pathways Ensuring Social Harmony.” Naturwissenschaften. Springer, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-012-0943-z. ieee: M. Konrad, T. Pamminger, and S. Foitzik, “Two pathways ensuring social harmony,” Naturwissenschaften, vol. 99, no. 8. Springer, pp. 627–636, 2012. ista: Konrad M, Pamminger T, Foitzik S. 2012. Two pathways ensuring social harmony. Naturwissenschaften. 99(8), 627–636. mla: Konrad, Matthias, et al. “Two Pathways Ensuring Social Harmony.” Naturwissenschaften, vol. 99, no. 8, Springer, 2012, pp. 627–36, doi:10.1007/s00114-012-0943-z. short: M. Konrad, T. Pamminger, S. Foitzik, Naturwissenschaften 99 (2012) 627–636. date_created: 2018-12-11T12:01:34Z date_published: 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2021-01-12T07:41:17Z day: '01' department: - _id: SyCr doi: 10.1007/s00114-012-0943-z intvolume: ' 99' issue: '8' language: - iso: eng month: '08' oa_version: None page: 627 - 636 publication: Naturwissenschaften publication_status: published publisher: Springer publist_id: '3565' quality_controlled: '1' scopus_import: 1 status: public title: Two pathways ensuring social harmony type: journal_article user_id: 3E5EF7F0-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 volume: 99 year: '2012' ... --- _id: '3242' abstract: - lang: eng text: Due to the omnipresent risk of epidemics, insect societies have evolved sophisticated disease defences at the individual and colony level. An intriguing yet little understood phenomenon is that social contact to pathogen-exposed individuals reduces susceptibility of previously naive nestmates to this pathogen. We tested whether such social immunisation in Lasius ants against the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae is based on active upregulation of the immune system of nestmates following contact to an infectious individual or passive protection via transfer of immune effectors among group members—that is, active versus passive immunisation. We found no evidence for involvement of passive immunisation via transfer of antimicrobials among colony members. Instead, intensive allogrooming behaviour between naive and pathogen-exposed ants before fungal conidia firmly attached to their cuticle suggested passage of the pathogen from the exposed individuals to their nestmates. By tracing fluorescence-labelled conidia we indeed detected frequent pathogen transfer to the nestmates, where they caused low-level infections as revealed by growth of small numbers of fungal colony forming units from their dissected body content. These infections rarely led to death, but instead promoted an enhanced ability to inhibit fungal growth and an active upregulation of immune genes involved in antifungal defences (defensin and prophenoloxidase, PPO). Contrarily, there was no upregulation of the gene cathepsin L, which is associated with antibacterial and antiviral defences, and we found no increased antibacterial activity of nestmates of fungus-exposed ants. This indicates that social immunisation after fungal exposure is specific, similar to recent findings for individual-level immune priming in invertebrates. Epidemiological modeling further suggests that active social immunisation is adaptive, as it leads to faster elimination of the disease and lower death rates than passive immunisation. Interestingly, humans have also utilised the protective effect of low-level infections to fight smallpox by intentional transfer of low pathogen doses (“variolation” or “inoculation”). acknowledgement: Funding for this project was obtained by the German Research Foundation DFG (http://www.dfg.de/en/index.jsp) as an Individual Research Grant (CR118/2-1 to SC) and the European Research Council (http://erc.europa.eu/) in form of two ERC Starting Grants (ERC-2009-StG240371-SocialVaccines to SC and ERC-2010-StG259294-LatentCauses to FJT). In addition, the Junge Akademie (Young Academy of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (http://www.diejungeakademie.de/english/i​ndex.html) funded this joint Antnet project of SC and FJT. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. article_number: e1001300 author: - first_name: Matthias full_name: Konrad, Matthias id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Konrad - first_name: Meghan full_name: Vyleta, Meghan id: 418901AA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Vyleta - first_name: Fabian full_name: Theis, Fabian last_name: Theis - first_name: Miriam full_name: Stock, Miriam id: 42462816-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Stock - first_name: Simon full_name: Tragust, Simon id: 35A7A418-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Tragust - first_name: Martina full_name: Klatt, Martina id: E60F29C6-E9AE-11E9-AF6E-D190C7302F38 last_name: Klatt - first_name: Verena full_name: Drescher, Verena last_name: Drescher - first_name: Carsten full_name: Marr, Carsten last_name: Marr - first_name: Line V full_name: Ugelvig, Line V id: 3DC97C8E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Ugelvig orcid: 0000-0003-1832-8883 - first_name: Sylvia full_name: Cremer, Sylvia id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Cremer orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868 citation: ama: Konrad M, Vyleta M, Theis F, et al. Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies. PLoS Biology. 2012;10(4). doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001300 apa: Konrad, M., Vyleta, M., Theis, F., Stock, M., Tragust, S., Klatt, M., … Cremer, S. (2012). Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies. PLoS Biology. Public Library of Science. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001300 chicago: Konrad, Matthias, Meghan Vyleta, Fabian Theis, Miriam Stock, Simon Tragust, Martina Klatt, Verena Drescher, Carsten Marr, Line V Ugelvig, and Sylvia Cremer. “Social Transfer of Pathogenic Fungus Promotes Active Immunisation in Ant Colonies.” PLoS Biology. Public Library of Science, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001300. ieee: M. Konrad et al., “Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies,” PLoS Biology, vol. 10, no. 4. Public Library of Science, 2012. ista: Konrad M, Vyleta M, Theis F, Stock M, Tragust S, Klatt M, Drescher V, Marr C, Ugelvig LV, Cremer S. 2012. Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies. PLoS Biology. 10(4), e1001300. mla: Konrad, Matthias, et al. “Social Transfer of Pathogenic Fungus Promotes Active Immunisation in Ant Colonies.” PLoS Biology, vol. 10, no. 4, e1001300, Public Library of Science, 2012, doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001300. short: M. Konrad, M. Vyleta, F. Theis, M. Stock, S. Tragust, M. Klatt, V. Drescher, C. Marr, L.V. Ugelvig, S. Cremer, PLoS Biology 10 (2012). date_created: 2018-12-11T12:02:13Z date_published: 2012-04-03T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2023-02-23T14:07:11Z day: '03' ddc: - '570' - '579' department: - _id: SyCr doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001300 ec_funded: 1 file: - access_level: open_access checksum: 4ebacefd9fbab5c68adf829124115fd1 content_type: application/pdf creator: system date_created: 2018-12-12T10:08:28Z date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:46:04Z file_id: '4689' file_name: IST-2012-96-v1+1_journal.pbio.1001300.pdf file_size: 674228 relation: main_file file_date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:46:04Z has_accepted_license: '1' intvolume: ' 10' issue: '4' language: - iso: eng month: '04' oa: 1 oa_version: Published Version project: - _id: 25DAF0B2-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425 grant_number: CR-118/3-1 name: Host-Parasite Coevolution - _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425 call_identifier: FP7 grant_number: '243071' name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society Effects' - _id: 25E0E184-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425 name: Antnet publication: PLoS Biology publication_status: published publisher: Public Library of Science publist_id: '3434' pubrep_id: '96' quality_controlled: '1' related_material: record: - id: '9755' relation: research_data status: public scopus_import: 1 status: public title: Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies tmp: image: /images/cc_by.png legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0) short: CC BY (4.0) type: journal_article user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 volume: 10 year: '2012' ... --- _id: '9755' abstract: - lang: eng text: Due to the omnipresent risk of epidemics, insect societies have evolved sophisticated disease defences at the individual and colony level. An intriguing yet little understood phenomenon is that social contact to pathogen-exposed individuals reduces susceptibility of previously naive nestmates to this pathogen. We tested whether such social immunisation in Lasius ants against the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae is based on active upregulation of the immune system of nestmates following contact to an infectious individual or passive protection via transfer of immune effectors among group members—that is, active versus passive immunisation. We found no evidence for involvement of passive immunisation via transfer of antimicrobials among colony members. Instead, intensive allogrooming behaviour between naive and pathogen-exposed ants before fungal conidia firmly attached to their cuticle suggested passage of the pathogen from the exposed individuals to their nestmates. By tracing fluorescence-labelled conidia we indeed detected frequent pathogen transfer to the nestmates, where they caused low-level infections as revealed by growth of small numbers of fungal colony forming units from their dissected body content. These infections rarely led to death, but instead promoted an enhanced ability to inhibit fungal growth and an active upregulation of immune genes involved in antifungal defences (defensin and prophenoloxidase, PPO). Contrarily, there was no upregulation of the gene cathepsin L, which is associated with antibacterial and antiviral defences, and we found no increased antibacterial activity of nestmates of fungus-exposed ants. This indicates that social immunisation after fungal exposure is specific, similar to recent findings for individual-level immune priming in invertebrates. Epidemiological modeling further suggests that active social immunisation is adaptive, as it leads to faster elimination of the disease and lower death rates than passive immunisation. Interestingly, humans have also utilised the protective effect of low-level infections to fight smallpox by intentional transfer of low pathogen doses (“variolation” or “inoculation”). article_processing_charge: No author: - first_name: Matthias full_name: Konrad, Matthias id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Konrad - first_name: Meghan full_name: Vyleta, Meghan id: 418901AA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Vyleta - first_name: Fabian full_name: Theis, Fabian last_name: Theis - first_name: Miriam full_name: Stock, Miriam id: 42462816-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Stock - first_name: Martina full_name: Klatt, Martina id: E60F29C6-E9AE-11E9-AF6E-D190C7302F38 last_name: Klatt - first_name: Verena full_name: Drescher, Verena last_name: Drescher - first_name: Carsten full_name: Marr, Carsten last_name: Marr - first_name: Line V full_name: Ugelvig, Line V id: 3DC97C8E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Ugelvig orcid: 0000-0003-1832-8883 - first_name: Sylvia full_name: Cremer, Sylvia id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Cremer orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868 citation: ama: 'Konrad M, Vyleta M, Theis F, et al. Data from: Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies. 2012. doi:10.5061/dryad.sv37s' apa: 'Konrad, M., Vyleta, M., Theis, F., Stock, M., Klatt, M., Drescher, V., … Cremer, S. (2012). Data from: Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sv37s' chicago: 'Konrad, Matthias, Meghan Vyleta, Fabian Theis, Miriam Stock, Martina Klatt, Verena Drescher, Carsten Marr, Line V Ugelvig, and Sylvia Cremer. “Data from: Social Transfer of Pathogenic Fungus Promotes Active Immunisation in Ant Colonies.” Dryad, 2012. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sv37s.' ieee: 'M. Konrad et al., “Data from: Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies.” Dryad, 2012.' ista: 'Konrad M, Vyleta M, Theis F, Stock M, Klatt M, Drescher V, Marr C, Ugelvig LV, Cremer S. 2012. Data from: Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies, Dryad, 10.5061/dryad.sv37s.' mla: 'Konrad, Matthias, et al. Data from: Social Transfer of Pathogenic Fungus Promotes Active Immunisation in Ant Colonies. Dryad, 2012, doi:10.5061/dryad.sv37s.' short: M. Konrad, M. Vyleta, F. Theis, M. Stock, M. Klatt, V. Drescher, C. Marr, L.V. Ugelvig, S. Cremer, (2012). date_created: 2021-07-30T08:39:13Z date_published: 2012-09-27T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2023-02-23T11:18:41Z day: '27' department: - _id: SyCr doi: 10.5061/dryad.sv37s main_file_link: - open_access: '1' url: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sv37s month: '09' oa: 1 oa_version: Published Version publisher: Dryad related_material: record: - id: '3242' relation: used_in_publication status: public status: public title: 'Data from: Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies' type: research_data_reference user_id: 6785fbc1-c503-11eb-8a32-93094b40e1cf year: '2012' ... --- _id: '9757' abstract: - lang: eng text: To fight infectious diseases, host immune defences are employed at multiple levels. Sanitary behaviour, such as pathogen avoidance and removal, acts as a first line of defence to prevent infection [1] before activation of the physiological immune system. Insect societies have evolved a wide range of collective hygiene measures and intensive health care towards pathogen-exposed group members [2]. One of the most common behaviours is allogrooming, in which nestmates remove infectious particles from the body surfaces of exposed individuals [3]. Here we show that, in invasive garden ants, grooming of fungus-exposed brood is effective beyond the sheer mechanical removal of fungal conidiospores as it also includes chemical disinfection through the application of poison produced by the ants themselves. Formic acid is the main active component of the poison. It inhibits fungal growth of conidiospores remaining on the brood surface after grooming and also those collected in the mouth of the grooming ant. This dual function is achieved by uptake of the poison droplet into the mouth through acidopore self-grooming and subsequent application onto the infectious brood via brood grooming. This extraordinary behaviour extends current understanding of grooming and the establishment of social immunity in insect societies. article_processing_charge: No author: - first_name: Simon full_name: Tragust, Simon id: 35A7A418-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Tragust - first_name: Barbara full_name: Mitteregger, Barbara id: 479DDAAC-E9CD-11E9-9B5F-82450873F7A1 last_name: Mitteregger - first_name: Vanessa full_name: Barone, Vanessa id: 419EECCC-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Barone orcid: 0000-0003-2676-3367 - first_name: Matthias full_name: Konrad, Matthias id: 46528076-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Konrad - first_name: Line V full_name: Ugelvig, Line V id: 3DC97C8E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Ugelvig orcid: 0000-0003-1832-8883 - first_name: Sylvia full_name: Cremer, Sylvia id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Cremer orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868 citation: ama: 'Tragust S, Mitteregger B, Barone V, Konrad M, Ugelvig LV, Cremer S. Data from: Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison. 2012. doi:10.5061/dryad.61649' apa: 'Tragust, S., Mitteregger, B., Barone, V., Konrad, M., Ugelvig, L. V., & Cremer, S. (2012). Data from: Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.61649' chicago: 'Tragust, Simon, Barbara Mitteregger, Vanessa Barone, Matthias Konrad, Line V Ugelvig, and Sylvia Cremer. “Data from: Ants Disinfect Fungus-Exposed Brood by Oral Uptake and Spread of Their Poison.” Dryad, 2012. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.61649.' ieee: 'S. Tragust, B. Mitteregger, V. Barone, M. Konrad, L. V. Ugelvig, and S. Cremer, “Data from: Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison.” Dryad, 2012.' ista: 'Tragust S, Mitteregger B, Barone V, Konrad M, Ugelvig LV, Cremer S. 2012. Data from: Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison, Dryad, 10.5061/dryad.61649.' mla: 'Tragust, Simon, et al. Data from: Ants Disinfect Fungus-Exposed Brood by Oral Uptake and Spread of Their Poison. Dryad, 2012, doi:10.5061/dryad.61649.' short: S. Tragust, B. Mitteregger, V. Barone, M. Konrad, L.V. Ugelvig, S. Cremer, (2012). date_created: 2021-07-30T12:31:31Z date_published: 2012-12-14T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2023-02-23T11:04:28Z day: '14' department: - _id: SyCr doi: 10.5061/dryad.61649 main_file_link: - open_access: '1' url: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.61649 month: '12' oa: 1 oa_version: Published Version publisher: Dryad related_material: record: - id: '2926' relation: used_in_publication status: public status: public title: 'Data from: Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison' type: research_data_reference user_id: 6785fbc1-c503-11eb-8a32-93094b40e1cf year: '2012' ...