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When to care and when to kill: termites shape their collective response based on stage of infection

View ORCID ProfileHannah E. Davis, Stefania Meconcelli, Renate Radek, View ORCID ProfileDino P. McMahon
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/287441
Hannah E. Davis
1Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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  • For correspondence: dino.mcmahon@fu-berlin.de hannah.e.davis@hedavis.net
Stefania Meconcelli
1Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, 14195 Berlin, Germany
2Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany
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Renate Radek
1Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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Dino P. McMahon
1Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, 14195 Berlin, Germany
2Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany
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  • For correspondence: dino.mcmahon@fu-berlin.de hannah.e.davis@hedavis.net
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Abstract

Termites defend their colonies from disease using an array of social behaviours, including allogrooming, cannibalism, and burial. We tested how groups of eastern subterranean termites (Reticulitermes flavipes) deploy these behaviours when presented with a nestmate at different stages of infection with the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. As expected, the termites groomed pathogen-exposed individuals significantly more than mock-treated controls; however, grooming levels were significantly higher after spore germination than before. Cannibalism became prevalent only after exposed termites became visibly ill, and burial was rarely observed. These results demonstrate that termites employ different strategies depending on the stage of infection that they encounter. Grooming intensity is linked not only to pathogen presence, but also to germination status, and, given the temporal correlation between cannibalism and visible signs of illness, the host may play a role in triggering its own sacrifice.

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Posted March 27, 2018.
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When to care and when to kill: termites shape their collective response based on stage of infection
Hannah E. Davis, Stefania Meconcelli, Renate Radek, Dino P. McMahon
bioRxiv 287441; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/287441
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When to care and when to kill: termites shape their collective response based on stage of infection
Hannah E. Davis, Stefania Meconcelli, Renate Radek, Dino P. McMahon
bioRxiv 287441; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/287441

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