Mandibular and postpharyngeal gland secretions of Acromyrmex landolti (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as chemical cues for nestmate recognition

Sainz Borgo, Cristina; Leal, Bernardo; Cabrera, Aivle; Hernández, José V.

dc.creator	Sainz Borgo, Cristina
dc.creator	Leal, Bernardo
dc.creator	Cabrera, Aivle
dc.creator	Hernández, José V.
dc.date	2013-09-23
dc.date.accessioned	2016-05-03T15:29:31Z
dc.date.available	2016-05-03T15:29:31Z
dc.identifier	http://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/11953
dc.identifier	10.15517/rbt.v61i3.11953
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10669/26677
dc.description	Nestmate recognition is fundamental for the cohesiveness of the colony in social insects. Acromyrmex landolti is a higher Attini, a leaf-cutter ant with largest nest and morphological castes. We studied the location of the recognition signal of A. landolti on the whole ant body, the isolation effect on the capacity of nestmate recognition, and the role of the mandibular (MG) and post-pharyngeal glands (PPG) as putative sources for chemical recognition signals in this species. We performed behavioral bioassays and chemical analyses of MG and PPG glands; MG volatiles in different castes were also characterized. In order to determine the occurrence of nestmate recognition signals, behavioral tests were performed for which the whole body, body parts or gland extracts from a nestmate and an alien worker ant, were placed on the central axis of an active field trail. Besides, the isolation effect of the nestmate chemical signal persistence was evaluated by repeating the experiments with whole ant bodies after 12h, 24h and 48h of isolation. The agonistic behavior of the ants on the trail was classified as inspection, threatening and biting. Gland volatiles were obtained by headspace solid phase microextraction, and PPG by solid sample analyses; and chemical analyses were performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Workers performed agonistic behaviors more frequently towards non-nestmate whole bodies, body parts and gland extracts, primarily those from the post-pharyngeal glands. Nestmate thoraces odorized with alien extracts were also recognized from aliens. Nestmate recognition ability persists for 12h and 24h after isolation, but decreases after 48h, suggesting that the chemical signal changes over time. Inter-colonial chemical analyses showed no differences in the PPG hydrocarbon profiles, while the relative proportions of MG compounds showed significant differences between colonies. These results showed that nestmate recognition was achieved by MG volatiles. Possibly, the PPG secretion works as a matrix that absorbs MG volatiles. We report, for the first time, some mandibular gland compounds for the genus Acromyrmex and for the tribe Attini group.	en-US
dc.description	El reconocimiento de compañeras de nido es fundamental para la cohesión de la colonia en los insectos sociales. Las señales de reconocimiento de compañeras en Acromyrmex landolti fueron estudiadas mediante bioensayos de comportamiento y análisis químicos de los componentes de la glándula mandibular (GM) y postfaríngea (GPF). Los bioensayos de comportamiento fueron realizados usando cuerpos completos de hormigas, partes del cuerpo y extractos glandulares de GM y GPF de una compañera de nido y una intrusa en el centro de una trilla activa. Los comportamientos agonísticos de las obreras se clasificaron en exploración, ataque y mordida. Las obreras se mostraron más agresivas hacia los cuerpos completos, partes del cuerpo y extractos glandulares de las intrusas que hacia los de las compañeras de nido. Los volátiles glandulares se obtuvieron mediante la técnica de espacio en cabeza con microextracción en fase sólida, y los hidrocarburos de la PPG por análisis de muestra sólida. Se encontró que los volátiles de la GM conforman la señal de reconocimiento. No se encontraron diferencias intercoloniales para los volátiles de la GM. Posiblemente los hidrocarburos cuticulares actúan como una matriz que absorbe volátiles de la GM.	es-ES
dc.format	application/pdf
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	Universidad de Costa Rica	en-US
dc.rights	Copyright (c) 2014 International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation	en-US
dc.source	Revista de Biología Tropical/International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation; Vol. 61 (3) September 2013	en-US
dc.source	Revista de Biología Tropical/International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation; Vol. 61 (3) September 2013	es-ES
dc.source	Revista Biología Tropical; Vol. 61 (3) September 2013	pt-PT
dc.source	2215-2075
dc.source	0034-7744
dc.source	10.15517/rbt.v61i3
dc.subject	nestmate recognition	en-US
dc.subject	postpharyngeal gland	en-US
dc.subject	mandibular gland	en-US
dc.subject	hs-spme	en-US
dc.subject	acromyrmex landolti	en-US
dc.subject	castes	en-US
dc.subject	reconocimiento de compañeras de nido	es-ES
dc.subject	acromyrmex landolti	es-ES
dc.subject	glándula mandibular	es-ES
dc.subject	glándula postfaringeal	es-ES
dc.title	Mandibular and postpharyngeal gland secretions of Acromyrmex landolti (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as chemical cues for nestmate recognition	en-US
dc.type	artículo original

Ficheros en el ítem

Ficheros	Tamaño	Formato	Ver
No hay ficheros asociados a este ítem.

Este ítem aparece en la(s) siguiente(s) colección(ones)

Revista de Biología Tropical [2107]

Mostrar el registro sencillo del ítem