Patterns of venom production and temporal polyethism in workers of Jerdon's jumping ant, Harpegnathos saltator
Patterns of venom production and temporal polyethism in workers of Jerdon's jumping ant, Harpegnathos saltator
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jinsphys.2012.09.011
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发表时间：
2012-12-01
影响因子：
2.2
通讯作者：
Haight, Kevin L.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Haight, Kevin L.
蚂蚁是化学工厂，它们最引人注目的产品之一是它们的毒液。尽管许多研究已经解决了蚂蚁毒液的特性和活性，但基本的与毒液相关的生理问题，如毒液的产生和替换如何随年龄变化，很少得到解决。这些问题的答案是理解这些生物生理能力的基础，以及它们在毒液生产中投资的潜在优化必须发生的参数。之前对蚂蚁产生毒液的唯一调查发现，它仅限于火蚁（Solenopsis invicta）工蚁的早期生活（Haight and Tschinkel, 2003）。由于没有进行类似的研究进行比较，因此尚不清楚这是否是蚂蚁的常见生理模式。为了解决这个问题，更广泛地说，为了增加目前缺乏的关于蚂蚁产毒能力的信息，我们研究了杰顿跳蚁（Harpegnathos saltator）工蚁的寿命、时间聚类、年龄相关的毒液生产和年龄相关的毒液替换能力。寿命从10天到近2年不等，平均寿命为206天。工蜂年轻时留在巢中，50日龄后过渡到外面工作（觅食），74日龄时达到一个平台期。在57天龄时，它们以空的毒液囊闭合，并将其填满，并且在所有三个年龄的测试中都能够替换毒液（尽管100天龄时的替换率高于30天和206天）。因此，产生毒液的能力并不局限于saltatator工蜂的早期生活，毒液生理和探索行为的各个方面似乎在某种程度上一致，可能导致觅食效率的提高；毒液囊在工蜂开始觅食的年龄达到饱和，毒液替换率在工蜂成为最专注的觅食者的年龄达到最高。(C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd.版权所有。
Ants are chemical factories, and among their more noticeable products are their venoms. Though many studies have addressed the properties and activities of ant venoms, basic venom-related physiological questions, such as how venom production and replacement may vary with age, are rarely addressed. The answers to these questions are fundamental to understanding the physiological capabilities of these organisms, as well as the parameters within which potential optimization of their investment in venom production must take place. The only previous investigation into venom production in ants found it to be limited to early life in workers of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Haight and Tschinkel, 2003). Because similar studies have not been conducted for comparison, it is unclear whether or not this is a common physiological pattern in ants. As a parsimonious way to address this question, and, more generally, to increase the currently scant information available regarding the venom-producing capabilities of ants, the longevity, temporal polyethism, age-related venom production, and age-related venom replacement capabilities of workers of Jerdon's jumping ant, Harpegnathos saltator were investigated. Longevity varied from 10 days to nearly 2 years, with a median lifespan of 206 days. Workers remained in the nest when young, transitioned to outside work (foraging) after 50 days of age, and reached a plateau in their tendency to be outside the nest at 74 days of age. They eclosed with empty venom sacs, filled them by about 57 days of age, and were able to replace venom at all three ages tested (though at a higher rate when aged 100 days than 30 and 206). So, venom-production ability is not limited to early life in H. saltator workers, and aspects of venom physiology and exploratory behavior appear to coincide in a manner likely to result in foraging efficiency benefits; venom sacs reach fullness around the age workers begin their foraging careers, and venom replacement rate is highest around the age workers become the most dedicated foragers. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.