[{"publisher":"Springer Nature","publication":"Nature Communications","OA_place":"publisher","has_accepted_license":"1","status":"public","corr_author":"1","month":"12","intvolume":"        16","main_file_link":[{"open_access":"1","url":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.02.27.582277"}],"publication_identifier":{"eissn":["2041-1723"]},"article_number":"10511","ddc":["570"],"external_id":{"pmid":["41330896"]},"acknowledgement":"We thank Joergen Eilenberg and Nicolai V. Meyling for the fungal strain, and the ISTA Social Immunity team, Jonghyun Park and Yuko Ulrich for ant collection. We also thank the Social Immunity team, in particular David Moreno Martínez, Tanvi Madaan, Wilfrid Jean Louis and Jessica Kirchner, for experimental and molecular support, as well as Friedrich Fochler for technical support with the chemical analysis, and the ISTA Lab Support Facility, including the mass spectrometry unit, for general and chemical laboratory support. We further thank Marco Ribezzi for advice on 13C calculations and Ernst Pittenauer for discussion of the chemical data, Chris Pull and Michael Sixt for project discussion, and the Social Immunity team for comments on the manuscript. The study was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation Programme (No. 771402; EPIDEMICSonCHIP) to SC.","author":[{"first_name":"Erika","full_name":"Dawson, Erika","last_name":"Dawson","id":"31B4E2D0-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87"},{"id":"953894f3-25bd-11ec-8556-f70a9d38ef60","full_name":"Hönigsberger, Michaela","first_name":"Michaela","last_name":"Hönigsberger"},{"full_name":"Kampleitner, Niklas","first_name":"Niklas","last_name":"Kampleitner","id":"2AC57FAC-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87"},{"full_name":"Grasse, Anna V","first_name":"Anna V","last_name":"Grasse","id":"406F989C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87"},{"id":"85f0e6d3-06b3-11ec-8982-8c5049fa4455","last_name":"Lindorfer","full_name":"Lindorfer, Lukas","first_name":"Lukas"},{"last_name":"Robb","first_name":"Jennifer","full_name":"Robb, Jennifer","id":"7bc2734a-e2c6-11ea-9824-a2ed5f0662a8"},{"last_name":"Beikzadeh Abbasi","first_name":"Farnaz","full_name":"Beikzadeh Abbasi, Farnaz","id":"0344bfb9-3feb-11ee-87e9-c27edc800bcd"},{"last_name":"Strahodinsky","first_name":"Florian","full_name":"Strahodinsky, Florian","id":"979E35EE-C996-11E9-8C7C-CF13E6697425"},{"last_name":"Leitner","first_name":"Hanna","full_name":"Leitner, Hanna","id":"8fc5c6f6-5903-11ec-abad-c83f046253e7"},{"first_name":"Harikrishnan","full_name":"Rajendran, Harikrishnan","last_name":"Rajendran","id":"876b6b34-8ff4-11ec-97c9-8d95a7aae416"},{"last_name":"Schmitt","first_name":"Thomas","full_name":"Schmitt, Thomas"},{"full_name":"Cremer, Sylvia","first_name":"Sylvia","last_name":"Cremer","id":"2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","orcid":"0000-0002-2193-3868"}],"article_processing_charge":"Yes","title":"Altruistic disease signalling in ant colonies","year":"2025","user_id":"2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","oa_version":"Published Version","date_published":"2025-12-01T00:00:00Z","pmid":1,"volume":16,"ec_funded":1,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","abstract":[{"lang":"eng","text":"Sick individuals often conceal their disease status to group members, thereby preventing social exclusion or aggression. Here we show by behavioural, chemical, immunological and infection load analyses that sick ant pupae instead actively emit a chemical signal that in itself is sufficient to trigger their own destruction by colony members. In our experiments, this altruistic disease-signalling was performed only by worker but not queen pupae. The lack of signalling by queen pupae did not constitute cheating behaviour, but reflected their superior immune capabilities. Worker pupae suffered from extensive pathogen replication whereas queen pupae were able to restrain their infection. Our data suggest the evolution of a finely-tuned signalling system in which it is not the induction of an individual’s immune response, but rather its failure to overcome the infection, that triggers pupal signalling for sacrifice. This demonstrates a balanced interplay between individual and social immunity that efficiently achieves whole-colony health."}],"oa":1,"language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"file_date_updated":"2025-12-15T13:30:33Z","OA_type":"gold","scopus_import":"1","_id":"18892","related_material":{"link":[{"relation":"press_release","description":"News on ISTA website","url":"https://ista.ac.at/en/news/ants-signal-deadly-infection/"}],"record":[{"status":"public","id":"20471","relation":"research_data"}]},"DOAJ_listed":"1","quality_controlled":"1","citation":{"mla":"Dawson, Erika, et al. “Altruistic Disease Signalling in Ant Colonies.” <i>Nature Communications</i>, vol. 16, 10511, Springer Nature, 2025, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66175-z\">10.1038/s41467-025-66175-z</a>.","ieee":"E. Dawson <i>et al.</i>, “Altruistic disease signalling in ant colonies,” <i>Nature Communications</i>, vol. 16. Springer Nature, 2025.","chicago":"Dawson, Erika, Michaela Hönigsberger, Niklas Kampleitner, Anna V Grasse, Lukas Lindorfer, Jennifer Robb, Farnaz Beikzadeh, et al. “Altruistic Disease Signalling in Ant Colonies.” <i>Nature Communications</i>. Springer Nature, 2025. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66175-z\">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66175-z</a>.","short":"E. Dawson, M. Hönigsberger, N. Kampleitner, A.V. Grasse, L. Lindorfer, J. Robb, F. Beikzadeh, F. Strahodinsky, H. Leitner, H. Rajendran, T. Schmitt, S. Cremer, Nature Communications 16 (2025).","ista":"Dawson E, Hönigsberger M, Kampleitner N, Grasse AV, Lindorfer L, Robb J, Beikzadeh F, Strahodinsky F, Leitner H, Rajendran H, Schmitt T, Cremer S. 2025. Altruistic disease signalling in ant colonies. Nature Communications. 16, 10511.","apa":"Dawson, E., Hönigsberger, M., Kampleitner, N., Grasse, A. V., Lindorfer, L., Robb, J., … Cremer, S. (2025). Altruistic disease signalling in ant colonies. <i>Nature Communications</i>. Springer Nature. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66175-z\">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66175-z</a>","ama":"Dawson E, Hönigsberger M, Kampleitner N, et al. Altruistic disease signalling in ant colonies. <i>Nature Communications</i>. 2025;16. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66175-z\">10.1038/s41467-025-66175-z</a>"},"date_updated":"2026-06-10T08:50:53Z","acknowledged_ssus":[{"_id":"LifeSc"},{"_id":"MassSpec"}],"APC_amount":"7068 EUR","doi":"10.1038/s41467-025-66175-z","department":[{"_id":"SyCr"},{"_id":"LifeSc"}],"file":[{"file_id":"20826","relation":"main_file","creator":"dernst","file_size":805323,"date_created":"2025-12-15T13:30:33Z","content_type":"application/pdf","access_level":"open_access","success":1,"checksum":"06244623bb7611c636652ecbc4787889","file_name":"2025_NatureComm_Dawson.pdf","date_updated":"2025-12-15T13:30:33Z"}],"date_created":"2025-01-27T11:28:05Z","publication_status":"published","type":"journal_article","tmp":{"short":"CC BY (4.0)","name":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)","legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","image":"/images/cc_by.png"},"day":"01","PlanS_conform":"1","project":[{"grant_number":"771402","name":"Epidemics in ant societies on a chip","_id":"2649B4DE-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425","call_identifier":"H2020"},{"name":"IST Austria Open Access Fund","_id":"B67AFEDC-15C9-11EA-A837-991A96BB2854"}],"article_type":"original"},{"publication_identifier":{"issn":["2663-337X"]},"month":"07","status":"public","has_accepted_license":"1","corr_author":"1","publisher":"Institute of Science and Technology Austria","OA_place":"publisher","user_id":"ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd","year":"2025","page":"138","oa_version":"Published Version","date_published":"2025-07-11T00:00:00Z","article_processing_charge":"No","title":"Social immunity in a tri-partite host-pathogen relationship","author":[{"id":"979E35EE-C996-11E9-8C7C-CF13E6697425","first_name":"Florian","full_name":"Strahodinsky, Florian","last_name":"Strahodinsky"}],"ddc":["570"],"acknowledged_ssus":[{"_id":"LifeSc"}],"date_updated":"2026-04-07T12:39:58Z","citation":{"mla":"Strahodinsky, Florian. <i>Social Immunity in a Tri-Partite Host-Pathogen Relationship</i>. Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19993\">10.15479/AT-ISTA-19993</a>.","ieee":"F. Strahodinsky, “Social immunity in a tri-partite host-pathogen relationship,” Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025.","chicago":"Strahodinsky, Florian. “Social Immunity in a Tri-Partite Host-Pathogen Relationship.” Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19993\">https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19993</a>.","short":"F. Strahodinsky, Social Immunity in a Tri-Partite Host-Pathogen Relationship, Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025.","ista":"Strahodinsky F. 2025. Social immunity in a tri-partite host-pathogen relationship. Institute of Science and Technology Austria.","apa":"Strahodinsky, F. (2025). <i>Social immunity in a tri-partite host-pathogen relationship</i>. Institute of Science and Technology Austria. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19993\">https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19993</a>","ama":"Strahodinsky F. Social immunity in a tri-partite host-pathogen relationship. 2025. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19993\">10.15479/AT-ISTA-19993</a>"},"alternative_title":["ISTA Thesis"],"_id":"19993","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"file_date_updated":"2026-01-15T23:30:03Z","oa":1,"abstract":[{"lang":"eng","text":"Ants are frequently challenged by different pathogens, which they counter with\r\nindividual and collective responses. Usually, the pathogens like fungi or viruses are\r\nsolitary and passive pathogens transmitted from host to host. Here, we use a nematobacterial pathogen complex to study worm-borne disease in black garden ants. These\r\nentomopathogenic nematodes are active parasites with an own behavior and chasing\r\npray.\r\nIn the first chapter, we investigated the basic biology of the host-pathogen relationship.\r\nWe tested different ant life stages and found that adult ants display defense behaviors\r\nand are generally resistant to nematode infection, whereas brood is highly susceptible.\r\nIn the case of worker pupae, we found a slight protective effect of the cocoon. When\r\nlarvae are accompanied by adults, meaning a queen or a group of workers, survival is\r\nsignificantly enhanced. Moreover, we found that nematodes can transmit from infected\r\ncadavers to healthy worker larvae, confirming a transmissible disease in ants. Again,\r\nworker presence significantly reduces transmission risk. In the end, we were also able\r\nto disentangle the pathogen system and investigate the pathogenic effect of the\r\nbacterial and nematode components.\r\nIn the second chapter, we studied the effect of multiple infections in adult queens and\r\nqueen larvae. By multiple exposures in the mode of coinfection and superinfections,\r\nwe wanted to assess the detrimental effect of combined fungal and nematode\r\nexposure to better understand how the pathogens interact with each other in an ant\r\nhost. We found instances where combined exposure lead to higher mortality in a given\r\ntime frame in both, adult queens and queen larvae.\r\nOverall entomopathogenic nematodes are a promising model to study worm infections\r\nin ants which extend our knowledge on collective disease defense."}],"day":"11","degree_awarded":"PhD","tmp":{"legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode","image":"/images/cc_by_nc_nd.png","name":"Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)","short":"CC BY-NC-ND (4.0)"},"type":"dissertation","date_created":"2025-07-10T14:12:20Z","publication_status":"published","supervisor":[{"last_name":"Cremer","first_name":"Sylvia","full_name":"Cremer, Sylvia","orcid":"0000-0002-2193-3868","id":"2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87"}],"file":[{"creator":"fstrahod","date_created":"2025-07-14T13:18:37Z","file_size":9857392,"embargo_to":"open_access","file_id":"20021","relation":"source_file","checksum":"df3a02f0d937ea9a3d79d5fb94fff097","access_level":"closed","date_updated":"2026-01-15T23:30:03Z","file_name":"Thesis_Florian_Strahodinsky_DOCX.docx","content_type":"application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document"},{"file_size":6439602,"date_created":"2025-07-14T13:18:38Z","embargo":"2026-01-15","creator":"fstrahod","relation":"main_file","file_id":"20022","file_name":"Thesis_Florian_Strahodinsky_PDF.pdf","date_updated":"2026-01-15T23:30:03Z","access_level":"open_access","checksum":"7164c21fe1946e839f7b8acd255ce803","content_type":"application/pdf"}],"department":[{"_id":"GradSch"},{"_id":"SyCr"}],"doi":"10.15479/AT-ISTA-19993"}]