Termites shape their collective behavioural response based on stage of infection

Social insects employ a range of behaviours to protect their colonies against disease, but little is known about how such collective behaviours are orchestrated. This is especially true for the social Blattodea (termites). We developed an experimental approach that allowed us to explore how the soci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2018-09, Vol.8 (1), p.14433-10, Article 14433
Main Authors: Davis, Hannah E., Meconcelli, Stefania, Radek, Renate, McMahon, Dino P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/158/856
631/181/2469
631/601/1466
631/601/18
Animal behavior
Blattodea
Cannibalism
Entomopathogenic fungi
Germination
Grooming
Host-pathogen interactions
Humanities and Social Sciences
Hygiene
Infections
Insects
Metarhizium anisopliae
multidisciplinary
Pathogens
Reticulitermes flavipes
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Social behavior
Termites
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Summary:Social insects employ a range of behaviours to protect their colonies against disease, but little is known about how such collective behaviours are orchestrated. This is especially true for the social Blattodea (termites). We developed an experimental approach that allowed us to explore how the social response to disease is co-ordinated by multistep host-pathogen interactions. We infected the eastern subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes with the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae , and then, at different stages of infection, reintroduced them to healthy nestmates and recorded behavioural responses. As expected, termites groomed pathogen-exposed individuals significantly more than controls; however, grooming was significantly elevated after fungal germination than before, demonstrating the importance of fungal status to hygienic behaviour. Significantly, we found that cannibalism became prevalent only after exposed termites became visibly ill, highlighting the importance of host condition as a cue for social hygienic behaviour. Our study reveals the presence of a coordinated social response to disease that depends on stage of infection. Specifically, we show how the host may play a key role in triggering its own sacrifice. Sacrificial self-flagging has been observed in other social insects: our results demonstrate that termites have independently evolved to both recognize and destructively respond to sickness.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-32721-7