---
_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. Current Biology. 2018;28(19):R1139-R1140.
doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063
apa: Pull, C., Metzler, S., Naderlinger, E., & Cremer, S. (2018). Protection
against the lethal side effects of social immunity in ants. Current Biology.
Cell Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063
chicago: Pull, Christopher, Sina Metzler, Elisabeth Naderlinger, and Sylvia Cremer.
“Protection against the Lethal Side Effects of Social Immunity in Ants.” Current
Biology. Cell Press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063.
ieee: C. Pull, S. Metzler, E. Naderlinger, and S. Cremer, “Protection against the
lethal side effects of social immunity in ants,” Current Biology, 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.” Current Biology, vol. 28, no. 19, Cell Press, 2018,
pp. R1139–40, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.063.
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'
...