Social Behavior, Immunity and Disease Resistance in Termites

白蚁的社会行为、免疫和抗病能力

• 批准号: 0116857
• 负责人: James F. A. Traniello
• 金额: $ 29.07万
• 依托单位: Trustees of Boston University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-08-01 至 2006-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0116857&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Social; Behavior; Immunity; Disease; Resistance

ABSTRACTSocial Behavior, Immunity and Disease Resistance in TermitesJames Traniello and Rebeca Rosengaus Termites live in soil and decayed wood and are continuously exposed to fungal, bacterial and other diseases. Their nesting and feeding habits have thus influenced their social behavior because individuals may contact infectious agents and transmit them to nestmates. We conduct research on termite disease resistance that bridges sociobiology, immunology and chemical ecology; the dampwood termite Zootermopsis angusticollis has been our model termite species. We have found that termites can resist infection through mutual grooming, immune response and chemical secretions and have begun to understand: 1) the benefits and costs of social living in termites, in terms of disease; 2) how colony composition can reduce infection; 3) the immune response of termites; 4) how social behavior and immunity interact to increase resistance; 5) the communication of information about pathogens within colonies; and 6) the antimicrobial properties of termite secretions. Our research proposal Social Behavior, Immunity and Disease Resistance in Termites will allow us to: 1) determine if social exchanges between immune and naive termites enhance the immune response of colony members, and the mechanisms involved; 2) understand how termites recognize infection in nestmates; 3) determine if the social control of infection is based on caste- and/or individual behavioral specialization; and 4) examine the disease-resistance mechanisms of the woodroach Cryptocercus punctulatus, which is a termite ancestor that lived in families, and the drywood termite Incisitermes minor, a species which differs from Z. angusticollis in the extent to which it must cope with microbes in the nest. These studies will advance our understanding of how evolutionary history and nesting ecology, which is a central feature of termite social life, have influenced the evolution of disease resistance. This project will further our knowledge of the ways in which individuals and colonies of termites resist disease and will thus contribute to the overall understanding of how disease may influence social behavior. The proposed research, which spans several disciplines of biology, will train and educate undergraduate and graduate students. Our research also concerns a group of wood-destroying insects which have great economic importance. Through basic research on the ways termites resist disease, new and effective technologies for termite control that do not involve the use of toxic chemicals which adversely impact the environment may be identified.

白蚁的社会行为、免疫和抗病性 白蚁生活在土壤和腐烂的木材中，并不断暴露于真菌，细菌和其他疾病。 它们的筑巢和进食习惯因此影响了它们的社会行为，因为个体可能接触传染性病原体并将其传播给巢友。 我们进行白蚁抗病性研究，桥梁社会生物学，免疫学和化学生态学;湿木白蚁Zootermopsis angusticollis一直是我们的模式白蚁物种。 我们已经发现白蚁可以通过相互梳理、免疫反应和化学分泌物抵抗感染，并且已经开始了解：1）在疾病方面，白蚁社会生活的益处和代价; 2）群体组成如何减少感染; 3）白蚁的免疫反应; 4）社会行为和免疫如何相互作用以增加抵抗力; 5）菌落内病原体信息的交流; 6）白蚁分泌物的抗菌特性。 我们的研究提案白蚁的社会行为，免疫力和疾病抵抗力将使我们能够：1）确定免疫和幼稚白蚁之间的社会交流是否增强了群体成员的免疫反应，以及所涉及的机制; 2）了解白蚁如何识别巢友的感染; 3）确定感染的社会控制是否基于种姓和/或个体行为专业化;（4）探讨了以家族为单位生活的白蚁祖先-麻点隐尾白蚁（Cryptocercus punctulatus）和与之不同的小白蚁（Incisitermes minor）的抗病机制。在一定程度上，它必须科普巢中的微生物。 这些研究将促进我们对进化历史和筑巢生态（白蚁社会生活的核心特征）如何影响抗病性进化的理解。 该项目将进一步了解白蚁个体和群体抵抗疾病的方式，从而有助于全面了解疾病如何影响社会行为。 这项拟议中的研究跨越了生物学的几个学科，将培训和教育本科生和研究生。 我们的研究还涉及一组具有重大经济意义的木材破坏昆虫。 通过对白蚁抵抗疾病的方式进行基础研究，可以确定新的有效的白蚁控制技术，这些技术不涉及使用对环境产生不利影响的有毒化学品。