Many creatures have been let on to self - medicate , from bear using Osha root library paste to repel insects tochimps eating harsh leavesto reduce their parasite freight . Buta new study has now revealedthat some Sir Henry Joseph Wood ants take this to a whole novel level : They craft their own antibiotic by mix two separate substances , the only other creature than mankind found to do so .
research worker investigating how the ants keep their nests free of disease have shown how they use a mixed bag of tree resin and formic dose to produce the antibacterial cocktail that is then used to treat their brood within the dependency . publish in the journalEcology and Evolution , the authors intimate that this could be how packed nests forefend epidemics that could be devastating for the colony ’s foresightful - terminus survival .
The pismire ( Formica paralugubris ) had already been know to gather up big amounts of resin from cone-bearing trees and hive away it in the nursery within the ant nest , in a similar way also seen with some bee species . The resin is rich in secondary metabolites that have antimicrobic property , but that is seemingly not enough for these societal insects .
In improver to the rosin , the ants also produce formic acid , which is ordinarily used to spray at possible predators and prey . This chemical also has antimicrobial property , and is frequently used by humans for this very reason , leading the research worker to have a hunch that the ants may be using the acid in a similar way . They decided to investigate whether or not the insects may have been integrate the two centre to create an antibiotic mathematical product that was better than the total of its parts .
They tested reinvigorated rosin against resin that had been exposed to wood ants for a span of weeks for their ability to ward off the fungusMetarhizium brunneum , which is known to infect ants and spread through their Colony . The ant - discover resin was much more effective at keep the fungus at bay , compare to both the unfermented rosin and other objects , such as stick , that had also been expose to the emmet . This hint that there was an important fundamental interaction occur between the ants and the resin , which turned out to involve the poison they bring about themselves .
The discovery that wood ants craft their own antibiotic drug by blend two separate substances is one of the most complex examples of zoopharmacognosy yet discovered , and has been dub “ justificatory mixology ” . The only other animal known to brew up antibacterial cocktail by mixing things together are humans , cast these small guys in a very select grouping indeed .
[ H / TScience Mag ]
