Data files from Extreme lifespan extension in tapeworm-infected ant workers

Social insects are hosts of diverse parasites, but the influence of these parasites on phenotypic host traits is not yet well understood. Here, we tracked the survival of tapeworm-infected ant workers, their uninfected nest-mates and of ants from unparasitized colonies. Our multi-year study on the ant <i>Temnothorax nylanderi,</i> the intermediate host of the tapeworm <i>Anomotaenia brevis,</i> revealed a prolonged lifespan of infected workers compared to their uninfected peers. Intriguingly, their survival over 3 years did not differ from those of (uninfected) queens, whose lifespan can reach two decades. By contrast, uninfected workers from parasitized colonies suffered from increased mortality compared to uninfected workers from unparasitized colonies. Infected workers exhibited a metabolic rate and lipid content similar to young workers in this species, and they received more social care than uninfected workers and queens in their colonies. This increased attention could be mediated by their deviant chemical profile, which we determined to elicit more interest from uninfected nest-mates in a separate experiment. In conclusion, our study demonstrates an extreme lifespan extension in a social host following tapeworm infection, which appears to enable host workers to retain traits typical for young workers.

社会性昆虫是多种寄生虫的宿主，但此类寄生虫对宿主表型性状的影响迄今尚未得到充分阐明。本研究针对作为短异带绦虫（*Anomotaenia brevis*）中间宿主的尼氏锤角蚁（*Temnothorax nylanderi*）开展了多年研究，对被绦虫感染的工蚁、其未受感染的同巢伙伴以及来自未寄生蚁群的蚂蚁的存活状况进行了追踪。结果显示，受感染工蚁的寿命相较于未受感染的同类显著延长。有趣的是，受感染工蚁的3年存活率与未受感染的蚁后并无差异——而该物种蚁后的寿命可达20年之久。与之形成对照的是，来自寄生蚁群的未受感染工蚁，其死亡率相较于未寄生蚁群的未受感染工蚁显著升高。受感染工蚁的代谢速率与脂质含量与该物种的年轻工蚁相仿，且它们在蚁群中获得的社会照料多于未受感染的工蚁与蚁后。这种额外的照料行为可能由其异常的化学特征所介导：我们在另一项独立实验中证实，这类特征能够激发未受感染同巢伙伴的更多关注。综上，本研究证实，社会性宿主在感染绦虫后寿命会出现极端程度的延长，这似乎可使受感染工蚁维持年轻工蚁的典型性状。