Antimicrobial Defences and Evolution of Sociality

微生物疾病威胁着所有社会，人类或其他社会。昆虫社会为传染病提供了理想的条件，特别是密切相关个体的拥挤。我们提出了从孤立到社会条件下抗菌防御的强度和广度的梯度，这与增加的拥挤和减少的遗传多样性有关。为了验证这一假设，我们比较了独居、半群居和群居昆虫的巢和菌落的微生物环境，以及抗菌机制。这项疾病调控研究的结果将为这些具有重要经济和生态意义的动物的使用、管理和保护提供信息。

Microbial diseases threaten all societies, human or otherwise. Insect societies present ideal conditions for contagious disease, specifically crowding of closely related individuals. We propose a gradient in the strength and breadth of antimicrobial defences from the solitary to the social condition and this is correlated with increasing crowding and decreasing genetic diversity. To test this hypothesis, we compare the microbial environments of nests and colonies, and the antimicrobial mechanisms, of solitary, semi-social and social insects. Outcomes from this research on disease regulation will inform the use, management and conservation of these economically and ecologically important animals.