2024-01-04 12:28:00
Could ants save our lives? It has been known for some time now that chemicals produced by certain ants have antibiotic properties. But for the first time, a species of ants has been observed using these chemicals to treat infected wounds on other ants of the same species.
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According to New Atlas, the species in question, the Matabele ant (Megaponera analis), is found in various regions of Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. It feeds exclusively on termites, which means that groups of ants must regularly raid neighboring termite colonies. But the soldier termites of these colonies do not give up: they inflict numerous and serious injuries on their invaders. If these wounds become infected, the affected ants may die.
An antibiotic substance soon to be tested on humans?
An international team of researchers has discovered that when these wounds become infected, the hydrocarbon profile of the ant’s cuticle (its hard exoskeleton) changes in a way that can be detected by other ants in the colony. They then react by taking an antibiotic secretion from one of their metapleural glands (located on the sides of the thorax) and applying it to the wound using their mandibles. As we can read in their study published in the journal Nature Communicationslaboratory tests showed that application of the antibiotic liquid reduced the mortality rate of infected ants by approximately 90%.
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It is important to note that one type of bacteria commonly responsible for infections, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is also a common cause of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans. Scientists are therefore trying to identify all the specific antibiotics produced by ants, with a view to possible use in humans.
“With the exception of man, I know of no other living creature capable of performing such sophisticated medical treatment of wounds”concluded researcher Erik Frank, from the German Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, who led the research with Professor Laurent Keller, from the Swiss University of Lausanne.
On the same topic :
⋙ Study reveals ants’ incredible social abilities to avoid traffic jams
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