New study in Lausanne shows: Ants heal injured relatives with antibiotics

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Ants have special glands for this, as the study published Friday in the specialist journal “Nature Communications” shows.

Metabale ants lead dangerous lives. They attack termites several times a day, killing and driving them away. They eat them when they return to the anthill. These raids not only result in large numbers of victims among termites, because the termites defend themselves fiercely. As the authors note in the study, up to 22 percent of ants lose one or more legs during such an attack.

But the injured ants are rescued: sister ants bring them back to the nest and take care of them. This care can reduce the mortality rate of injured ants by more than 90 percent.

In research led by Laurent Keller, former professor at the University of Lausanne, researchers led by Erik Frank showed that ants use a cocktail of antibiotics to care for the injured. These antibiotics are secreted by a special gland unique to ants.

The gland, called the metapleural gland, contains more than 100 proteins and organic compounds that prevent the development of bacteria in the wound and in the body of injured animals. For application, ants use palps located between the jaw pincers, Keller explained to Keystone-SDA.

The researchers also showed in the study that when ants were injured, the hydrocarbon profile in the insects’ outer protective layer changed. As the researchers explain, injured ants can change their body odor to indicate that they need help.

The results could have potentially revolutionary medical implications, according to Keller. “The bacteria that proliferate in injured ants are Pseudomonas, pathogens that frequently colonize the lungs of debilitated patients in hospitals,” the researcher said. “As resistance to traditional antibiotics becomes widespread, the discovery of substances that are effective against these pathogens may open the door to new treatment opportunities.”

(SDA)

Source : Blick