A species of African ant provides its wounded with antibiotics it produces. As Lausanne researchers show in a new study, ants are able to recognize infected wounds and act accordingly. Ants have special glands for this, as shown in the study published Friday in the specialized journal “Nature Communications”.
Metabale ants lead dangerous lives. They attack termites several times a day, killing them and carrying them away. When they return to the anthill, they eat them. These incursions not only result in many victims among termites, but the latter defend themselves vehemently. Up to 22% of ants have one or more legs severed during this attack, the authors wrote in the study.
Injured members of the species are rescued
However, the injured ants are saved: other ants bring them back to the nest and take care of them. This precaution can reduce the mortality rate of injured ants by more than 90%.
In the study led by Laurent Keller, a 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 so-called 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 so-called palps, which are located between the jaw pincers, as Keller explained to Keystone-SDA.
Possible solution to the problem of antibiotic resistance
In the study, researchers also showed that when ants are injured, the hydrocarbon profile in the insects' outer protective layer changes. To signal that they need help, injured ants can change their body odor, as the researchers explained.
According to Keller, the results could have potentially revolutionary medical implications. “The bacteria that multiply in injured ants are Pseudomonas, pathogens that often colonize the lungs of debilitated patients in hospitals,” said the researcher. “As resistance to conventional antibiotics becomes more common, the discovery of substances that are effective against these pathogens could open up new therapeutic opportunities.”