Pathogen-specific social immunity is associated with erosion of individual immune function in an ant

Florent Masson (), Rachael Louise Brown, Joel Vizueta, Thea Irvine, Zijun Xiong, Jonathan Romiguier and Nathalie Stroeymeyt ()
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Florent Masson: University of Bristol
Rachael Louise Brown: University of Bristol
Joel Vizueta: University of Copenhagen
Thea Irvine: University of Bristol
Zijun Xiong: BGI Research
Jonathan Romiguier: University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD
Nathalie Stroeymeyt: University of Bristol

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Contagious diseases are a major threat to societies in which individuals live in close contact. Social insects have evolved collective defense behaviors, such as social care or isolation of infected workers, that prevent outbreaks of pathogens. It has thus been suggested that individual immunity is reduced in species with such ‘social immunity’. However, this hypothesis has not been tested functionally. Here, we characterize the immune response of the ant Lasius niger using a combination of genomic analysis, experimental infections, gene expression quantification, behavioural observations and pathogen quantifications. We uncover a striking specialization of immune responses towards different pathogens. Systemic individual immunity is effective against opportunistic bacterial infections, which are not covered by social immunity, but is not elicited upon fungal infections, which are effectively controlled by social immunity. This specialization suggests that immune layers have evolved complementary functions predicted to ensure the most cost-effective response against a wide range of pathogens.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53527-4

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