Regulation and specificity of antifungal metapleural gland secretion in leaf-cutting ants

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Abstract

Ants have paired metapleural glands (MGs) to produce secretions for prophylactic hygiene. These exocrine glands are particularly well developed in leaf-cutting ants, but whether the ants can actively regulate MG secretion is unknown. In a set of controlled experiments using conidia of five fungi, we show that the ants adjust the amount of MG secretion to the virulence of the fungus with which they are infected. We further applied fixed volumes of MG secretion of ants challenged with constant conidia doses to agar mats of the same fungal species. This showed that inhibition halos were significantly larger for ants challenged with virulent and mild pathogens/weeds than for controls and Escovopsis-challenged ants. We conclude that the MG defence system of leaf-cutting ants has characteristics reminiscent of an additional cuticular immune system, with specific and non-specific components, of which some are constitutive and others induced
Original languageEnglish
JournalProceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume279
Issue number1745
Pages (from-to)4215-4222
Number of pages8
ISSN0962-8452
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012

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