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Chemical Components of Dufour’s and Venom Glands in Camponotus japonicus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
SIMPLE SUMMARY: Camponotus japonicus is a soil-dwelling ant species that is widespread in China and Southeast Asia. A mature nest consists of minor workers, major workers, gynes, males, and a queen. The original workers, which are raised by the queen during the early nest-building stage, are smaller...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2023
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10380308/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37504670 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects14070664 |
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author | Xu, Wenjing Zhao, Mengqin Tang, Lingxiao Ma, Ruoqing He, Hong |
author_facet | Xu, Wenjing Zhao, Mengqin Tang, Lingxiao Ma, Ruoqing He, Hong |
author_sort | Xu, Wenjing |
collection | PubMed |
description | SIMPLE SUMMARY: Camponotus japonicus is a soil-dwelling ant species that is widespread in China and Southeast Asia. A mature nest consists of minor workers, major workers, gynes, males, and a queen. The original workers, which are raised by the queen during the early nest-building stage, are smaller than other castes. The Dufour’s and venom glands are two important glands associated with the sting apparatus in female castes. Their secretions play significant roles in defense, reproduction, communication, and foraging in the social life of ants. However, the exact nature of their secretions and whether there are differences among castes remain unknown. In this study, we analyzed the secretions of these two glands using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry with two sample processing methods (hexane solution and solid-phase microextraction). The main secretion of the Dufour’s gland is n-undecane, whose proportion significantly varies among castes. The main secretions of the venom gland are formic acid and n-undecane, and their proportions show obvious differences among castes. This study provides basic information to further understand the function of these two glands in the social life of ants. ABSTRACT: The Dufour’s and venom glands are the most developed glands connected to the female reproductive organs, playing important roles in defense, foraging, information exchange, and reproduction in ants. The main chemical secretions of these glands vary among species and even among castes of the same species. In this study, we analyzed the chemical components of the Dufour’s and venom glands in different castes of Camponotus japonicus (original worker, minor worker, major worker, gyne, and queen) using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) with two sample processing methods (hexane solution and solid-phase microextraction). The secretion of the Dufour’s gland is characterized by a high ratio of alkanes, with n-undecane being the dominant secretion in all castes except the original workers. The venom gland’s secretion mainly includes alkanes, acids, ketones, and alcohols, with formic acid and n-undecane being the dominant components. Additionally, the chemical composition and proportion of the main components vary significantly among castes, which may be closely related to the division of labor in their social life. This study provides basic information to further understand the function of these two glands in the social life of ants. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10380308 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-103803082023-07-29 Chemical Components of Dufour’s and Venom Glands in Camponotus japonicus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Xu, Wenjing Zhao, Mengqin Tang, Lingxiao Ma, Ruoqing He, Hong Insects Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Camponotus japonicus is a soil-dwelling ant species that is widespread in China and Southeast Asia. A mature nest consists of minor workers, major workers, gynes, males, and a queen. The original workers, which are raised by the queen during the early nest-building stage, are smaller than other castes. The Dufour’s and venom glands are two important glands associated with the sting apparatus in female castes. Their secretions play significant roles in defense, reproduction, communication, and foraging in the social life of ants. However, the exact nature of their secretions and whether there are differences among castes remain unknown. In this study, we analyzed the secretions of these two glands using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry with two sample processing methods (hexane solution and solid-phase microextraction). The main secretion of the Dufour’s gland is n-undecane, whose proportion significantly varies among castes. The main secretions of the venom gland are formic acid and n-undecane, and their proportions show obvious differences among castes. This study provides basic information to further understand the function of these two glands in the social life of ants. ABSTRACT: The Dufour’s and venom glands are the most developed glands connected to the female reproductive organs, playing important roles in defense, foraging, information exchange, and reproduction in ants. The main chemical secretions of these glands vary among species and even among castes of the same species. In this study, we analyzed the chemical components of the Dufour’s and venom glands in different castes of Camponotus japonicus (original worker, minor worker, major worker, gyne, and queen) using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) with two sample processing methods (hexane solution and solid-phase microextraction). The secretion of the Dufour’s gland is characterized by a high ratio of alkanes, with n-undecane being the dominant secretion in all castes except the original workers. The venom gland’s secretion mainly includes alkanes, acids, ketones, and alcohols, with formic acid and n-undecane being the dominant components. Additionally, the chemical composition and proportion of the main components vary significantly among castes, which may be closely related to the division of labor in their social life. This study provides basic information to further understand the function of these two glands in the social life of ants. MDPI 2023-07-24 /pmc/articles/PMC10380308/ /pubmed/37504670 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects14070664 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Xu, Wenjing Zhao, Mengqin Tang, Lingxiao Ma, Ruoqing He, Hong Chemical Components of Dufour’s and Venom Glands in Camponotus japonicus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) |
title | Chemical Components of Dufour’s and Venom Glands in Camponotus japonicus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) |
title_full | Chemical Components of Dufour’s and Venom Glands in Camponotus japonicus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) |
title_fullStr | Chemical Components of Dufour’s and Venom Glands in Camponotus japonicus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) |
title_full_unstemmed | Chemical Components of Dufour’s and Venom Glands in Camponotus japonicus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) |
title_short | Chemical Components of Dufour’s and Venom Glands in Camponotus japonicus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) |
title_sort | chemical components of dufour’s and venom glands in camponotus japonicus (hymenoptera, formicidae) |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10380308/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37504670 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects14070664 |
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