Defensive behavior is linked to altered surface chemistry following infection in a termite society.

ABSTRACT: The care-kill response determines whether a sick individual will be treated or eliminated from an insect society, but little is known about the physiological underpinnings of this process. We exploited the stepwise infection dynamics of an entomopathogenic fungus in a termite to explore how care-kill transitions occur, and identify the chemical cues behind these shifts. We found collective responses towards pathogen-injected individuals to vary according to severity and timing of pathogen challenge, with elimination, via cannibalism, occurring sooner in response to a severe active infection. However, injection with inactivated fungal blastospores also resulted in increased albeit delayed cannibalism, even though it did not universally cause host death. This indicates that the decision to e

SUBMITTER: Esparza-Mora MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10667546 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature