| Title: | The Alarm Pheromone and Alarm Response of the Clonal Raider Ant |
| Author(s): | Lopes LE; Frank ET; Karpati Z; Schmitt T; Kronauer DJC; |
| Address: | "Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA. llopes@rockefeller.edu. Biocentre, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Wurzburg, D-97074, Wurzburg, Germany. Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland. Department of Chemical Ecology, Plant Protection Institute, Centre of Agricultural Research, ELKH, Budapest, Hungary. Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA. dkronauer@rockefeller.edu. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY, 10065, USA. dkronauer@rockefeller.edu" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10886-023-01407-4 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1573-1561 (Electronic) 0098-0331 (Print) 0098-0331 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Ants communicate via an arsenal of different pheromones produced in a variety of exocrine glands. For example, ants release alarm pheromones in response to danger to alert their nestmates and to trigger behavioral alarm responses. Here we characterize the alarm pheromone and the alarm response of the clonal raider ant Ooceraea biroi, a species that is amenable to laboratory studies but for which no pheromones have been identified. During an alarm response, ants quickly become unsettled, leave their nest pile, and are sometimes initially attracted to the source of alarm, but ultimately move away from it. We find that the alarm pheromone is released from the head of the ant and identify the putative alarm pheromone as a blend of two compounds found in the head, 4-methyl-3-heptanone and 4-methyl-3-heptanol. These compounds are sufficient to induce alarm behavior alone and in combination. They elicit similar, though slightly different behavioral features of the alarm response, with 4-methyl-3-heptanone being immediately repulsive and 4-methyl-3-heptanol being initially attractive before causing ants to move away. The behavioral response to these compounds in combination is dose-dependent, with ants becoming unsettled and attracted to the source of alarm pheromone at low concentrations and repulsed at high concentrations. While 4-methyl-3-heptanone and 4-methyl-3-heptanol are known alarm pheromones in other more distantly related ant species, this is the first report of the chemical identity of a pheromone in O. biroi, and the first alarm pheromone identified in the genus Ooceraea. Identification of a pheromone that triggers a robust, consistent, and conserved behavior, like the alarm pheromone, provides an avenue to dissect the behavioral and neuronal mechanisms underpinning chemical communication" |
| Keywords: | Animals *Pheromones/chemistry *Ants/physiology Heptanol Ketones 4-methyl-3-heptanol 4-methyl-3-heptanone Chemical communication Formicidae Ooceraea biroi Social behavior; |
| Notes: | "MedlineLopes, Lindsey E Frank, Erik T Karpati, Zsolt Schmitt, Thomas Kronauer, Daniel J C eng R35GM127007/National Institute of General Medical Sciences/ Faculty Scholar Award/Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ Gilliam Fellowship/Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ DGE 194642/Division of Graduate Education/ 2023/02/10 J Chem Ecol. 2023 Feb; 49(1-2):1-10. doi: 10.1007/s10886-023-01407-4. Epub 2023 Feb 10" |
