Data from: Ants medicate to fight disease

dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki - Bos, Nick
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki - Sundström, Liselotte
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki - Fuchs, Siiri
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki - Freitak, Dalial
dc.contributor.authorBos, Nick
dc.contributor.authorSundström, Liselotte
dc.contributor.authorFuchs, Siiri
dc.contributor.authorFreitak, Dalial
dc.coverage.spatialFinland
dc.coverage.spatialTvärminne
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-24T15:11:12Z
dc.date.issued2015-08-10
dc.date.issued2015-08-10
dc.descriptionParasites are ubiquitous, and the ability to defend against these is of paramount importance. One way to fight diseases is self-medication, which occurs when an organism consumes biologically active compounds to clear, inhibit or alleviate disease symptoms. Here, we show for the first time that ants selectively consume harmful substances (Reactive Oxygen Species, ROS) upon exposure to a fungal pathogen, yet avoid these in the absence of infection. This increased intake of ROS, while harmful to healthy ants, leads to higher survival of exposed ants. The fact that ingestion of this substance carries a fitness cost in the absence of pathogens rules out compensatory diet choice as the mechanism, and provides evidence that social insects medicate themselves against fungal infection, using a substance that carries a fitness cost to uninfected individuals.
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qm7gg
dc.identifier.urihttps://hydatakatalogi-test-24.it.helsinki.fi/handle/123456789/9008
dc.rightsOpen
dc.rights.licensecc-zero
dc.subjectBeauveria bassiana
dc.subjectFormica fusca
dc.titleData from: Ants medicate to fight disease
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