Tyramides found in male fungus-growing ants in an evolutionary context
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Date
2019-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Because of their social nature, ants depend heavily on specific chemicals for communication and defense. To produce such specificity, ants use a wide variety of chemicals that vary in ratios and quantitates. Thus, ants have been the source of many novel natural products, and many remain to be discovered. One recent example is a class of compounds called tyramides found in males in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Although their function is still unknown, it is thought that tyramides are important for mating. To further our understanding of the evolution of ant tyramides, we examined tyramides among seven fungus-growing ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attina) species. We used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of whole and trisected males to determine the tyramides produced by each species. Compounds were then mapped on to the fungus-growing ant tree. Of the 12 observed tyramides, four are novel compounds, never before found in nature. Additionally, we found that Apterostigma dentigerum is the only known Myrmicine species with no male tyramides. This work will help elucidate tyramide evolution among the fungus-growing ants, creating a broader foundation for our future research on the function of these novel compounds.
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Keywords
ants, Attina, fungus-growing ants, chemical ecology, tyramide, male alates