---
_id: '55'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Many animals use antimicrobials to prevent or cure disease [1,2]. For example,
    some animals will ingest plants with medicinal properties, both prophylactically
    to prevent infection and therapeutically to self-medicate when sick. Antimicrobial
    substances are also used as topical disinfectants, to prevent infection, protect
    offspring and to sanitise their surroundings [1,2]. Social insects (ants, bees,
    wasps and termites) build nests in environments with a high abundance and diversity
    of pathogenic microorganisms — such as soil and rotting wood — and colonies are
    often densely crowded, creating conditions that favour disease outbreaks. Consequently,
    social insects have evolved collective disease defences to protect their colonies
    from epidemics. These traits can be seen as functionally analogous to the immune
    system of individual organisms [3,4]. This ‘social immunity’ utilises antimicrobials
    to prevent and eradicate infections, and to keep the brood and nest clean. However,
    these antimicrobial compounds can be harmful to the insects themselves, and it
    is unknown how colonies prevent collateral damage when using them. Here, we demonstrate
    that antimicrobial acids, produced by workers to disinfect the colony, are harmful
    to the delicate pupal brood stage, but that the pupae are protected from the acids
    by the presence of a silk cocoon. Garden ants spray their nests with an antimicrobial
    poison to sanitize contaminated nestmates and brood. Here, Pull et al show that
    they also prophylactically sanitise their colonies, and that the silk cocoon serves
    as a barrier to protect developing pupae, thus preventing collateral damage during
    nest sanitation.
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- 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: Elisabeth
  full_name: Naderlinger, Elisabeth
  id: 31757262-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Naderlinger
- first_name: Sylvia
  full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
  id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Cremer
  orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
  ama: Pull C, Metzler S, Naderlinger E, Cremer S. Protection against the lethal side
    effects of social immunity in ants. <i>Current Biology</i>. 2018;28(19):R1139-R1140.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063">10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063</a>
  apa: Pull, C., Metzler, S., Naderlinger, E., &#38; Cremer, S. (2018). Protection
    against the lethal side effects of social immunity in ants. <i>Current Biology</i>.
    Cell Press. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063</a>
  chicago: Pull, Christopher, Sina Metzler, Elisabeth Naderlinger, and Sylvia Cremer.
    “Protection against the Lethal Side Effects of Social Immunity in Ants.” <i>Current
    Biology</i>. Cell Press, 2018. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063</a>.
  ieee: C. Pull, S. Metzler, E. Naderlinger, and S. Cremer, “Protection against the
    lethal side effects of social immunity in ants,” <i>Current Biology</i>, vol.
    28, no. 19. Cell Press, pp. R1139–R1140, 2018.
  ista: Pull C, Metzler S, Naderlinger E, Cremer S. 2018. Protection against the lethal
    side effects of social immunity in ants. Current Biology. 28(19), R1139–R1140.
  mla: Pull, Christopher, et al. “Protection against the Lethal Side Effects of Social
    Immunity in Ants.” <i>Current Biology</i>, vol. 28, no. 19, Cell Press, 2018,
    pp. R1139–40, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063">10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063</a>.
  short: C. Pull, S. Metzler, E. Naderlinger, S. Cremer, Current Biology 28 (2018)
    R1139–R1140.
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:44:23Z
date_published: 2018-10-08T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-09-15T12:06:46Z
day: '08'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063
external_id:
  isi:
  - '000446693400008'
intvolume: '        28'
isi: 1
issue: '19'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: R1139 - R1140
publication: Current Biology
publication_status: published
publisher: Cell Press
publist_id: '7999'
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Protection against the lethal side effects of social immunity in ants
type: journal_article
user_id: c635000d-4b10-11ee-a964-aac5a93f6ac1
volume: 28
year: '2018'
...