Search results for "Camponotus"
showing 7 items of 7 documents
Immune response affects ant trophallactic behaviour.
2008
5 pages; International audience; Sociality is associated with many benefits that have favoured its evolution in social insects. However, sociability also presents disadvantages like crowding of large numbers of individuals, which may favour the spread of infections within colonies. Adaptations allowing social insects to prevent and/or control pathogen infections range from behavioural responses to physiological ones including their immune systems. In a state of infection, social interactions with nestmates should be altered in a way which might prevent its spreading. We simulated a microbial infection in workers of the ant Camponotus fellah by the administration of peptidoglycan (PGN) and t…
Sequence and evolution of a hexamerin from the ant Camponotus festinatus.
2000
In the ant Camponotus festinatus, two different hexamerins accumulate stage-specifically during the late larval period and at various times in adults. These hexamerins serve as storage proteins and play important roles in brood nourishment and colony founding. We report an analysis of the cDNA sequence of C. festinatus hexamerin 2 (CfeHex2). The native protein contains 732 amino acids, which are moderately enriched in aromatic amino acids, aspartate and asparagine. Phylogenetic analyses show a close relationship of CfeHex2 to a putative toxin of the braconid wasp, Bracon hebetor. The divergence of Formicidae and Braconidae hexamerins was calculated to have begun 187 MYA, an estimate consist…
Data from: Cuticular hydrocarbons as potential mediators of cryptic species divergence in a mutualistic ant association
2019
Upon advances in sequencing techniques, more and more morphologically identical organisms are identified as cryptic species. Often, mutualistic interactions are proposed as drivers of diversification. Species of the Neotropical parabiotic ant association between Crematogaster levior and Camponotus femoratus are known for highly diverse cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, which in insects serve as desiccation barrier but also as communication cues. In the present study we investigated the association of the ants’ CHC profiles to genotypes and morphological traits, and discovered cryptic species pairs in both genera. To assess putative niche differentiation between the cryptic species, we c…
Data from: Not only for egg yolk - functional and evolutionary insights from expression, selection and structural analyses of Formica ant vitellogeni…
2015
Vitellogenin, a storage protein, has been extensively studied for its egg-yolk precursor role, and it has been suggested to be fundamentally involved in caste differences in social insects. More than one vitellogenin copy has been reported in several oviparous species, including ants. However, the number and function of different vitellogenins, their phylogenetic relatedness and their role in reproductive queens and non-reproductive workers has been studied in few species only. We studied caste biased expression of vitellogenins in seven Formica ant species. Only one copy of conventional vitellogenin was identified in Formica species, and three vitellogenin homologues, derived from ancient …
Community Composition, Antifungal Activity and Chemical Analyses of Ant-Derived Actinobacteria
2020
Actinobacteria associated with insects represent one potentially rich source of novel natural products with antifungal activity. Here, we investigated the phylogenetic diversity and community composition of actinobacteria associated with ants using a combination of culture-dependent and -independent methods. Further, we assessed the antagonistic activity against phytopathogenic fungi and identified the secondary metabolites from isolates with bioactivity. A total of 416 actinobacterial isolates were obtained from three ant species (Camponotus japonicus, Lasius fuliginosus, and Lasius flavus) located in five nests. The largest amount of isolates were observed in the head samples. 16S rRNA ge…
Data from: How do cuticular hydrocarbons evolve? Physiological constraints and climatic and biotic selection pressures act on a complex functional tr…
2016
Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) cover the cuticles of virtually all insects, serving as a waterproofing agent and as a communication signal. The causes for the high CHC variation between species, and the factors influencing CHC profiles, are scarcely understood. Here, we compare CHC profiles of ant species from seven biogeographic regions, searching for physiological constraints and for climatic and biotic selection pressures. Molecule length constrained CHC composition: long-chain profiles contained fewer linear alkanes, but more hydrocarbons with disruptive features in the molecule. This is probably owing to selection on the physiology to build a semi-fluid cuticular layer, which is necessa…
Patterns and rates of nucleotide substitution, insertion and deletion in the endosymbiont of antsBlochmannia floridanus
2009
Genome reduction is a general process that has been studied in numerous symbiotic bacteria associated with insects. We investigated the last stages of genome degradation in Blochmannia floridanus, a mutualistic bacterial endosymbiont of the ant Camponotus floridanus. We determined the tempo (rates of insertion and deletion) and mode (size and number of insertion-deletion events) of the process in the last 200,000 years by analysing a total of 16 intergenic regions in several strains of this endosymbiont from different ant populations. We provide the first calculation of the reduction rate for noncoding DNA in this endosymbiont (2.2 x 10(-8) lost nucleotides/site/year) and compare it with th…