ArticlePeerJ2016
Experimental modulation of external microbiome affects nestmate recognition in harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex barbatus).
Article in PeerJ, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Microbiome-mediated chemical communication in insects: Implications for pest management.Pest management science · 2026Review
- Alteration of the Microbiome is Associated with Changes in Mating and Locomotion in Callosobruchus maculatus.Microbial ecology · 2026Article
- Variation in Ants' Chemical Recognition Signals across Vineyard Agroecosystems.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- The role of the microbiome in the neurobiology of social behaviour.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2020Article
- Microbial transmission in animal social networks and the social microbiome.Nature ecology & evolution · 2020Review
- Analysis of Tick Surface Decontamination Methods.Microorganisms · 2020Article
- Phenotypic Plasticity of Nest-Mate Recognition Cues in Formica exsecta Ants.Journal of chemical ecology · 2019Article
- Surface sterilization methods impact measures of internal microbial diversity in ticks.Parasites & vectors · 2019Article
- Exposure to cuticular bacteria can alter host behavior in a funnel-weaving spider.Current zoology · 2018Article
- Effect of antibiotic treatment and gamma-irradiation on cuticular hydrocarbon profiles and mate choice in tsetse flies (Glossina m. morsitans).BMC microbiology · 2018Article
- Exploring Interactions between the Gut Microbiota and Social Behavior through Nutrition.Genes · 2018Review
- Review
- Functional characterization of odorant receptors in the ponerine ant,Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2017Article
- The Microbiome and Host Behavior.Annual review of neuroscience · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Social insects use odors as cues for a variety of behavioral responses, including nestmate recognition. Past research on nestmate recognition indicates cuticular hydrocarbons are important nestmate discriminators for social insects, but other factors are likely to contribute to colony-specific odors. Here we experimentally tested whether external microbes contribute to nestmate recognition in red harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex barbatus). We changed the external microbiome of ants through topical application of either antibiotics or microbial cultures. We then observed behavior of nestmates when treated ants were returned to the nest. Ants whose external microbiome was augmented with microbial cultures were much more likely to be rejected than controls, but ants treated with antibiotics were not. This result is consistent with the possibility that external microbes are used for nestmate recognition.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.