Wolbachia-infected pharaoh ant colonies have higher egg production, metabolic rate and worker survival.

Autor:	Singh R; Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA., Suresh S; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA., Fewell JH; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA., Harrison JF; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA., Linksvayer TA; Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	The Journal of experimental biology [J Exp Biol] 2024 Aug 15; Vol. 227 (16). Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 23.
DOI:	10.1242/jeb.247168
Abstrakt:	Wolbachia is a widespread maternally transmitted endosymbiotic bacteria with diverse phenotypic effects on its insect hosts, ranging from parasitic to mutualistic. Wolbachia commonly infects social insects, where it faces unique challenges associated with its host's caste-based reproductive division of labor and colony living. Here, we dissect the benefits and costs of Wolbachia infection on life-history traits of the invasive pharaoh ant, Monomorium pharaonis, which are relatively short lived and show natural variation in Wolbachia infection status between colonies. We quantified the effects of Wolbachia infection on the lifespan of queen and worker castes, the egg-laying rate of queens across queen lifespan, and the metabolic rates of whole colonies and colony members. Infected queens laid more eggs than uninfected queens but had similar metabolic rates and lifespans. Interestingly, infected workers outlived uninfected workers. At the colony level, infected colonies were more productive as a consequence of increased queen egg-laying rates and worker longevity, and infected colonies had higher metabolic rates during peak colony productivity. While some effects of infection, such as elevated colony-level metabolic rates, may be detrimental in more stressful natural conditions, we did not find any costs of infection under relatively benign laboratory conditions. Overall, our study emphasizes that Wolbachia infection can have beneficial effects on ant colony growth and worker survival in at least some environments. Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing or financial interests. (© 2024. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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