Data from: Parasite prevalence in a social host has colony-wide impacts on transcriptional activity and survival

Parasites pose significant challenges not only to individual hosts but
also to entire social groups. We investigated the effects of parasitism by
the cestode Anomotaenia brevis on colonies of its intermediate host, the
ant Temnothorax nylanderi. We evaluated changes in worker and queen
survival rates and transcriptional activity in the fat body of infected
and uninfected workers, as well as in the parasite itself, in relation to
infected worker prevalence and colony size. Cestode-infected workers are
known to exhibit a significantly extended lifespan compared to uninfected
workers. Here, we demonstrate that the survival rates of infected workers,
uninfected queens, and uninfected workers decrease with increasing
infected worker prevalence and increase with colony size. Transcriptomic
analysis revealed stress-related signatures in all workers, regardless of
infection status, as infection prevalence increased. Moreover, gene
expression patterns, particularly in uninfected workers, were strongly
influenced by colony size. The transcriptional activity of the parasitic
cestode also shifted with infected worker prevalence, highlighting the
complex dynamics of host-parasite interactions. These results demonstrate
that parasites in social species impose colony-wide impacts that extend
beyond infected individuals, even in the absence of direct cross-nestmate
infection risks. Moreover, the consequences of parasitism can be modulated
by colony size.