Exploring life-history and symbiotic strategy of social insect symbiont using X-ray CT

本研究描述了一个实用的比较工作流程的发展，调查社会昆虫共生体的生活史和共生策略，使用非破坏性的高分辨率显微CT。我们已经选择了一组指标性状，并测试其性能的micro-CT成像，以确定其作为指标的意义。这项研究表明有希望的结果，我们目前正在选择一套合适的指标，适用于广泛的稀有共生类群的过程中。该研究旨在为研究人员提供有价值的工具来研究社会昆虫共生体，填补其生态学的知识空白，并开发模拟模型来回答与共生生态学相关的具体问题。

This research describes the development of a practical comparative workflow to investigate the life-histories and symbiotic strategies of social insect symbionts using a non-destructive high-resolution micro-CT. We have selected a set of indicator traits and tested their performance for micro-CT imaging to determine their significance as indicators. This research indicates promising results, and we are currently in the process of selecting a set of suitable indicators to apply to a wide range of rare symbiont taxa. The study aims to provide researchers with valuable tools to investigate social insect symbionts, fill knowledge gaps in their ecology, and develop simulation models to answer specific questions related to their symbiotic ecology.