Recognition of conspecific immunological status in a neotropical paper wasp

Host immune activation is common under a pathogen invasion. This physiological response can promote changes in body surface compounds, thus providing chemical cues related to health that might be useful to conspecifics. By recognizing the current immunological status of social partners, individuals can modulate their behavior to minimize the risk of infection. Tegument wounding, an immune elicitor, is a required step for many parasites to become established in a host. By using the neotropical eusocial paper wasp Mischocyttarus metathoracicus as a model organism, we first performed a lure presentation experiment in the field to test if wasps discriminate conspecific immunological status (experimentally manipulated by wounding) during on-nest social interactions. Then, we performed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses to test if immunostimulation by wounding alters the wasps’ cuticular hydrocarbon profile. We found that wasps reduce the duration of aggressive physical contact whe..., Please see the README document and the associated article.,病原体入侵时，宿主的免疫激活现象十分普遍。这种生理应答可促使体表化合物发生改变，进而释放与健康状态相关的化学信号，可供同种个体获取相关信息。通过识别社交伙伴当前的免疫状态，个体能够调整自身行为以降低感染风险。体壁损伤作为一种免疫刺激因子，是多数寄生虫成功定植于宿主的必要环节。本研究以新热带区真社会性纸巢黄蜂*Mischocyttarus metathoracicus*为模式生物，首先在野外开展了引诱物呈现实验，以检验黄蜂在巢内社交互动过程中，是否能够区分经人工损伤（即实验操控）的同类免疫状态；随后通过气相色谱-质谱联用（gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, GC-MS）分析，检验损伤引发的免疫刺激是否会改变黄蜂的表皮碳氢化合物谱。研究发现，黄蜂会缩短攻击性肢体接触的时长……详见README文档及相关研究论文。