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Nestmate and Task Cues are Influenced and Encoded Differently within Ant Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profiles

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Abstract

Insect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are primarily antidesiccation agents, but they also play crucial roles in intra- and interspecific communication, especially among social Hymenoptera. The complex CHC profiles of social insects have often been compared among individuals, kin, nestmates, colonies, and species. In the ant Formica exsecta, only the (Z)-9-alkene part of the CHC profile encodes the nestmate signal. Here, we showed that the other major part of the CHC profile with n-alkane components is influenced strongly by the task a worker performs (foraging vs nonforaging). This part of the profile is independent of the nestmate signal. Therefore, the CHC profile of F. exsecta workers is composed of two independent parts: a colony-specific (Z)-9-alkene profile under genetic influence and an environmentally influenced task-related n-alkane profile. The dissociating of the CHC profile into two or more independent parts has implications for the analysis and interpretation of past and future CHC studies.

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Acknowledgements

Many thanks go to Liselotte Sundström of Helsinki University for providing laboratory facilities in Finland and Duncan Jackson and Roger Butlin of Sheffield University for detailed comments. Funding was provided by NERC (NE/C512310/1 and NE/F018355/1) and to L. Sundström from Academy of Finland grants (206505).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

    Stephen J. Martin

  2. Chemical Ecology Group, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, Lennard-Jones Laboratory, Keele University, Keele, ST5 5BG, UK

    Falko P. Drijfhout

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Correspondence to Stephen J. Martin.

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Martin, S.J., Drijfhout, F.P. Nestmate and Task Cues are Influenced and Encoded Differently within Ant Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profiles. J Chem Ecol 35, 368–374 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-009-9612-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-009-9612-x

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