Ants Learn Aphid Species as Mutualistic Partners: Is the Learning Behavior Species-Specific?
Ants Learn Aphid Species as Mutualistic Partners: Is the Learning Behavior Species-Specific?
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DOI：
10.1007/s10886-015-0651-1
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发表时间：
2015-12-01
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Nomura, Masashi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Hayashi, Masayuki;Nakamuta, Kiyoshi;Nomura, Masashi
在蚜虫群体中，许多种类的蚜虫为蚂蚁提供蜜露并由蚂蚁照料，而另一些蚜虫从不被照料，经常被蚂蚁捕食。在这种关系中，蚂蚁必须具有区分蚜虫种类的能力，互惠的蚜虫被接受为伙伴而不是猎物。尽管据报道，蚂蚁利用蚜虫的表皮碳氢化合物（CHCs）来区分共生蚜虫和非共生蚜虫，但尚不清楚这种识别共生蚜虫的能力是先天的还是后天的。因此，我们测试了蚂蚁对蚜虫的识别是否依赖于学习，以及学习行为是否具有物种特异性。当蚁群的工蚁们先前照料豇豆蚜虫（Aphis cracivora）时，它们对豇豆蚜虫的攻击性就会降低。此外，蚂蚁对另一种共生蚜虫fabae的攻击性也有所降低，而对非共生蚜虫Acyrthosiphon pisum的攻击性则保持不变，无论它们之前是否有过照料acacaccivora的经验。当给蚂蚁提供这些蚜虫种类的CHCs处理过的玻璃假体时，倾向于克拉契科蚜的蚂蚁对克拉契科蚜和fabae的CHCs的攻击性降低。化学分析结果表明，青花蒿与蚕豆蒿的CHC谱具有相似性，而与豌豆蒿的CHC谱不一致。这些结果表明，蚂蚁对蚜虫的识别涉及到学习，而学习行为可能不是物种特异性的，因为不同蚜虫物种之间的chc具有相似性，它们形成了相互关系。
In ant-aphid associations, many aphid species provide ants with honeydew and are tended by ants, whereas others are never tended and are frequently preyed upon by ants. In these relationships, ants must have the ability to discriminate among aphid species, with mutualistic aphids being accepted as partners rather than prey. Although ants reportedly use cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) of aphids to differentiate between mutualistic and non-mutualistic species, it is unclear whether the ability to recognize mutualistic aphid species as partners is innate or involves learning. Therefore, we tested whether aphid recognition by ants depends on learning, and whether the learning behavior is species-specific. When workers of the ant Tetramorium tsushimae had previously tended the cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora, they were less aggressive toward this species. In addition, ants also reduced their aggressiveness toward another mutualistic aphid species, Aphis fabae, after tending A. craccivora, whereas ants remained aggressive toward the non-mutualistic aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, regardless of whether or not they had previous experience in tending A. craccivora. When ants were offered glass dummies treated with CHCs of these aphid species, ants that had tended A. craccivora displayed reduced aggression toward CHCs of A. craccivora and A. fabae. Chemical analyses showed the similarity of the CHC profiles between A. craccivora and A. fabae but not with A. pisum. These results suggest that aphid recognition of ants involves learning, and that the learning behavior may not be species-specific because of the similarity of CHCs between different aphid species with which they form mutualisms.