ArticlePNAS nexus2023
The royal food of termites shows king and queen specificity.
Article in PNAS nexus, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Accumulation of 13C-labeled phosphatidylethanolamine in the termite abdomen revealed by correlative isotope microscopy and mass microscopy.Microscopy (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Inter-Caste Comparison Reveals a Unique Bioenergetic Signature in Long-Lived Ant Queens.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- How do termite baits work? implication of subterranean termite colony demography on the successful implementation of baits.Journal of economic entomology · 2025Review
- Oral Transfer of Anti-Aging Substances: Key Chemical Found in Reproductive Caste of Termites.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Prostaglandin A3 regulates the colony development ofCrop health · 2024Article
- Selective enrichment of founding reproductive microbiomes allows extensive vertical transmission in a fungus-farming termite.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Society in eusocial insects is based on the reproductive division of labor, with a small number of reproductive individuals supported by a large number of nonreproductive individuals. Because inclusive fitness of all colony members depends on the survival and fertility of reproductive members, sterile members provide royals with special treatment. Here, we show that termite kings and queens each receive special food of a different composition from workers. Sequential analysis of feeding processes demonstrated that workers exhibit discriminative trophallaxis, indicating their decision-making capacity in allocating food to the kings and queens. Liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry analyses of the stomodeal food and midgut contents revealed king- and queen-specific compounds, including diacylglycerols and short-chain peptides. Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging analyses of
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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.