The research group, including Senior Researcher Mayako Kasukake of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, said that when the aphid's gall (nest) was destroyed by an enemy, the soldier larvae themselves released a large amount of coagulant fluid to make a hole. Elucidated the "self-sacrificing nest repair mechanism" that blocks it.
There are species of aphids that form and live in society, such as honeybees.As soon as an enemy pierces such a social aphid's nest, soldier larvae emerge from the nest and attack the enemy.At the same time, multiple soldiers gather near the hole, releasing a large amount of fluid from the body and filling the hole.As a result, soldier larvae either die or fail to grow properly and end their lives as larvae.
This time, the research group conducted various experiments with the aim of elucidating this self-sacrificing nest repair mechanism.As a result, it was found that the body fluids of soldier larvae are filled with specialized blood cells, and when they are released, the cells collapse and a series of chemical reactions begin.First, the released lipid (triglyceride) rapidly solidifies, followed by melanization of body fluids and cross-linking of proteins, forming a strong brown coagulum.In other words, soldier larvae repair the wounds on the walls of the nest by significantly enhancing the formation mechanism of the "scab" that closes the wounds on the body surface and releasing a large amount of body fluid with extremely high coagulation activity to the outside. , It became clear that it takes peculiar and advanced social behavior.
The elucidation of this mechanism can be said to be a result that gives insight into the understanding of the molecular basis and evolution of social behavior of insects.
Paper information:[Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences] Exaggeration and co-option of innate immunity for social defense
