” Chemical analyses revealed that the hydrocarbon profile of the ant cuticle modifications as a result of a wound infection,” Erik Frank, research study author and scientist from Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg, stated in a press release. The ants can precisely recognize this alteration, permitting them to evaluate the infection status.
Widespread south of the Sahara, the Matabele ants (Megaponera analis) are called after an African tribe that ruined everything in their course in Africa in the 1880s. The ants are similarly formidable and aggressive. They only consume termites and will go on unsafe hunting explorations in which they regularly get hurt as they hunt those termites. As it turns out, theyre also excellent at taking care of the wounded.
A Matabele ant tends to the wound of a fellow ant whose legs were bitten off in a battle with termites. Image credits: Erik Frank/ University of Wuerzburg.
If their wounds get contaminated, theres a considerable threat of death. Nevertheless, Matabele ants have actually developed a complex health care system, according to a brand-new study. The researchers from Germany found that the ants can distinguish between non-infected and infected injuries, treating the latter efficiently with prescription antibiotics they produce themselves.
Medicine in a dangerous tiny world
For now, if you wish to learn more about Matabele ants, they are featured in the eight-part documentary “Life on Our Planet” on Netflix. The series about the ants was recorded in 2021 at the research station of the University of Würzburg in Côte dIvoire. They focused on the ants natural habitat and on the artificial nests in the station.
The team of scientists will now explore wound care habits in other ant species and other social animals. They likewise desire to determine and evaluate the prescription antibiotics utilized by Matabele ants in collaboration with chemistry research groups. They argue this could eventually result in the discovery of brand-new prescription antibiotics that could be used in people.
Extensive south of the Sahara, the Matabele ants (Megaponera analis) are named after an African people that ruined whatever in their path in Africa in the 1880s. The scientists from Germany found that the ants can distinguish between infected and non-infected injuries, treating the latter effectively with prescription antibiotics they produce themselves.
A study in 2018 discovered that the Matabele ants carry their injured partners home after an attack on termites and after that look after them back in the nest, holding the hurt limb with their mandibles and front legs while licking the injury. Its the first non-human animal that has been seen methodically nursing their injured back to health.
The ants apply antimicrobial substances and proteins to the contaminated injury. They believe this has medical ramifications, as the main pathogen found in ants injuries, called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is also a leading cause of infection in human beings, with a number of strains that are antibiotic resistant.
Its an extremely efficient treatment. The death rate of infected people is reduced by 90%, as the scientists found. They think this has medical implications, as the main pathogen found in ants injuries, called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is likewise a leading cause of infection in people, with a number of stress that are antibiotic resistant.
On the left a fresh injury, on the right the condition one hour after treatment. The wound surface seems sealed. Image credits: Erik Frank/ University of Wuerzburg.
The previous research study that exposed this remarkable behaviour didnt look into how the recovery happens– this is what scientists have actually now figured out. The ants use antimicrobial substances and proteins to the contaminated injury.
The research study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
The team of researchers will now check out wound care behaviors in other ant types and other social animals.