Publications
Explore our publications on social immunity in ants.
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(NeurIPS, 2024) Smoke and Mirrors in Causal Downstream Tasks
In this work, we employed causal inference models for treatment effect estimation to annotate ant grooming behaviour from datasets. Specifically, we evaluated the role of model training in debiasing.
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(Trends Parasitol, 2024) Unconditional versus condition-dependent social immunity
In this review, we analyzed how unconditional social immunity in superorganism differs from condition-dependent social immunity in helper associations.
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(PNAS, 2024) Frequent horizontal chromosome transfer between asexual fungal insect pathogens
This study demonstrates that horizontal transfer of entire chromosomes, previously thought unlikely, occurs both within and across species in the fungus Metarhizium, providing a competitive advantage to recipient strains under certain conditions.
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(bioRxiv, 2024) Altruistic disease signalling in ant colonies
In this preprint, we show that fatally-infected brood alerts colony members to its sickness by active chemical signalling. Such altruistic disease signalling is an expression of the unconditional cooperation found in superorganismal insect colonies.
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(Curr Biol, 2024) Fungal infection alters collective nutritional intake of ant colonies
Teaming up with nutrient ecologists, we discovered that ants from infected colonies alter their foraging patterns to prioritize protein-rich food, while healthy ants prefer carbohydrate-rich food. We provide evidence that this foraging shift reflects a compensation for the peptides used during an immune response of infected ants.
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(BMC Ecol Evo, 2023) Trade-offs between immunity and competitive ability in fighting ant males
This study revealed that not only sickness but already the cost of an early immune response impairs male fighting ability in Cardiocondyla ants.
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(Nat Comm, 2023) Dynamic pathogen detection and social feedback shape collective hygiene in ants
In this study, we demonstrated that noisy individual decisions, based on only local, incomplete, yet dynamically updated information about pathogen threats and social feedback, can result in powerful collective disease defenses.
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(Front Microbiol, 2023) Antiviral immune response reveals host-specific virus infections in natural ant populations
Using a combined analysis to reconstruct complete virus genomes by RNA-seq and the hosts’ antiviral immune response of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), we determined viral infection patterns in natural ant populations.
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(Funct Ecol, 2023) Behavioural defences against parasites across host social structures
This review discusses how different types of social organization influence the way how individuals change their behaviour to avoid, resist and tolerate infections, how this benefits themselves, and how it affects their group members (and the entire group).
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(Nat Ecol Evol, 2023) Pathogen evasion of social immunity
In this study, we analysed the potential of fungal pathogens to adapt to individual vs social immunity of their social insect hosts. We found that lines adapted to groups of ants providing sanitary care were able to evade this collective defence by reducing their ergosterol levels, a key fungal component that triggers grooming.
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(Nat Rev Immunol, 2022) Principles of disease defence in organisms, superorganisms and societies
This review highlights the common principles of organismal and superorganismal defences against disease. Just like the cells in a body, the members of superorganismal social insect colonies, such as ants, form a single reproductive unit, leading to cooperative and even altruistic disease defence.
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(Ecol Lett, 2021) Early queen infection shapes developmental dynamics and induces long-term disease protection in incipient ant colonies
We studied the long-term effects of early low-level infections of ant queens on the development and disease resistance of the colony. We find that the queen can protect her worker offspring from disease through transgenerational immunisation for at least one year after own infection.
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(Ecol Lett, 2020) Social immunity modulates competition between coinfecting pathogens
We found that the presence of grooming nestmates shapes the competition between co-infecting pathogens, favouring fast infecting fungal strains over those taking longer to invade their host. This reveals the power of social immunity to modulate infection patterns.
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(Encycl Soc Ins, 2020) Parasites and Pathogens
This entry in the ‘Encyclopedia of Social Insects’ provides an overview of the disease pressure faced by and the cooperative disease defences exhibited by social insects.
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(Curr Biol, 2019) Social immunity in insects
This primer summarises the concept of social immunity and highlights the difference between the complexity of cooperative disease defences between social insects that form a superorganism to other social groups that consist of totipotent group members.
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(Curr Opin Insect Sci, 2019) Pathogens and disease defense of invasive ants
This review discusses how pathogens and disease defense of invasive ants lead to competitive advantage over native species.
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(Encycl Anim Behav, 2019) Social Immunity
This entry in the ‘Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior’ broadly introduces the concept of social immunity.
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(Science, 2018) Social network plasticity decreases disease transmission in a eusocial insect
The study shows how ant colonies can modulate their social interaction networks after pathogen exposure to contain the disease. We found social distancing performed by infectious foragers and documented how this limits pathogen transmission to the vulnerable queen and nurses in the center of the colony.
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(Ecol Evol, 2018) Social environment affects the transcriptomic response to bacteria in ant queens
The article looks at the effects of social immunity on individual immune responses. The study uses bacterial infected queens of the species Linepithema humile as a model system.
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(Curr Biol, 2018) Protection against the lethal side effects of social immunity in ants
In the course of this work, we looked at how brood is protected against the harmful effects of formic acid.
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(FASEB J, 2018) Oxytocin-like signaling in ants influences metabolic gene expression and locomotor activity
In this study, we used ants to examine the functionality of inotocin, a known insect ortholog of the mammalian oxytocin.
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(PNAS, 2018) Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care
The study demonstrates how ants adjust their sanitary care behaviours based on previous encounters with pathogens.
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(eLife, 2018) Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies
The study describes that workers perform destructive disinfection of fatally-infected brood, thereby preventing pathogen spread within the colony.
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(Annu Rev Entomol, 2018) Social immunity: emergence and evolution of colony-level disease protection
In this review we highlighted the disease pressures faced by social insect colonies and their collective and cooperative defence systems, from their mechanisms to their evolution.
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(BMC Evol Biol, 2017) Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by performing prophylactic undertaking behaviour
In this work, we showed that queens in cofounding associations do not engage in social immunity, but selfishly reduce their own risk of infection upon infection or death of the second queen.
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(Roy Soc Open Sci, 2017) Ant queens increase their reproductive efforts after pathogen infection
We demonstrated that low-level fungal infections prompt ant queens to increase their reproductive efforts. This boost in reproduction aligns with the terminal investment hypothesis.
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(Phil Trans R Soc B, 2015) Sociality and health: impacts of sociality on disease susceptibility and transmission in animal and human societies
This paper introduces a theme issue presenting the latest developments in research on the impacts of sociality on health and fitness.
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(J Theor Biol, 2015) Fungal disease dynamics in insect societies: optimal killing rates and the ambivalent effect of high social interaction rates
In this study, we modelled the infection dynamics particular to obligate killing pathogens, such as the insect-pathogenic fungi Metarhizium and Beauveria, which produce new infectious spores only after host´s death.
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(Proc Roy Soc B, 2015) Anti-pathogen protection versus survival costs mediated by an ectosymbiont in an ant host
In this project, we showed that infection with the symbiotic Laboulbenia fungus triggers both behavioural hygiene and immune gene expression, providing a pre-emptive benefit to ants when later exposed to the pathogen Metarhizium.
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(Curr Opin Insect Sci, 2014) Organisational immunity in social insects
In this review, we describe how insect societies are protected against disease through both their inherent social interaction structures among colony members and the way they modulate these interactions to influence pathogen transmission dynamics upon exposure. That is: by “organizational immunity.”
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(Trends Immunol, 2014) Individual and social immunisation in insects
This review summarises evidence and mechanisms of immunisation in insects, both at the level of the individual insect and of entire colonies.
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(Behav Ecol Sociobiol, 2014) Increased grooming after repeated brood care provides sanitary benefits in a clonal ant
In this work, we described how repeated brood care experience affects the performance of sanitary brood care.
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(BMC Evol Biol, 2013) Pupal cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in ant colonies
Ants use their poison to disinfect the nest. We showed that pupae are protected against the toxic effects of this strong antimicrobial by their silk cocoon layer.
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(Curr Biol, 2013) Ants disinfect fungus-exposed brood by oral uptake and spread of their poison
In this work, we showed that Formicine ants combine the mechanical removal of infectious pathogen stages from exposed colony members with chemical disinfection through the application of their poison, the main active component of which being formic acid.
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(Funct Ecol, 2012) Effects of social immunity and unicoloniality on host-parasite interactions in invasive insect societies
In this work, we discuss how the parasite release during introduction and their super-colonial social structure may contribute to the success of invasive social insect species.
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(PLoS, 2012) Social transfer of pathogenic fungus promotes active immunisation in ant colonies
In this study, we identified the mechanism of social immunisation in ants: close social contact with pathogen-exposed individuals leads to a transfer of low levels of infectious pathogens to colony members. Instead of causing disease, this triggers a specific immune response, providing future protection against the pathogen.
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(Proc Roy Soc B, 2010) Rapid anti-pathogen response in ant societies relies on high genetic diversity
The study showed that colonies with reduced genetic diversity due to inbreeding are impaired in the performance of their sanitary care behaviour, likely due to reduced detection abilities.
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(Philos Trans R Soc B, 2009) Analogies in the evolution of individual and social immunity
In this review, we introduced the idea that the cooperative anti-parasite defences of social insect colonies follow the same organisational principle – across biological levels – as the organismal immune system of multicellular organisms.
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(Current Biology, 2007) Social prophylaxis: group interaction promotes collective immunity in ant colonies
In this work, we described the phenomenon of social immunization in ant colonies, i.e. that living together with an infectious colony member can improve later survival upon exposure to the same pathogen.
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(Anim Behav, 2007) Plasticity in antiparasite behaviours and its suggested role in invasion biology
We reviewed antiparasite behaviours and suggest that the success of invasive species may, in part, be attributed to a flexible expression of these costly behaviors.
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(Current Biology, 2007) Social Immunity
This review describes the collective and cooperative disease defenses expressed by social insects and how they provide ‘social immunity’ to the colony. Social insect colonies thus show multiple layers of immunity: their individual immune system, combined with cooperative sanitary care and infection management.
Social immunity
Our work has revealed many aspects of how social insects protect their colonies from disease by cooperative defences. Their social immune system encompasses nest hygiene, collective sanitary care and cooperative infection treatment, thereby assuring fitness of the colony.