Schneider, SA, Scharffetter, C, Wagner, AE et al. (4 more authors) (2016) Social stress increases the susceptibility to infection in the ant Harpegnathos saltator. Scientific Reports, 6. 25800. ISSN 2045-2322
Abstract
Aggressive interactions between members of a social group represent an important source of social stress with all its negative follow-ups. We used the ponerine ant Harpegnathos saltator to study the effects of frequent aggressive interactions on the resistance to different stressors. In these ants, removal or death of reproducing animals results in a period of social instability within the colony that is characterized by frequent ritualized aggressive interactions leading to the establishment of a new dominance structure. Animals are more susceptible to infections during this period, whereas their resistance against other stressors remained unchanged. This is associated with a shift from glutathione-S-transferase activities towards glutathione peroxidase activities, which increases the antioxidative capacity at the expense of their immune competence.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016, the Author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Keywords: | infection; social evolution |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Food Science and Nutrition (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 24 May 2016 09:50 |
Last Modified: | 05 Oct 2017 16:35 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep25800 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/srep25800 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:99978 |