Summary
In vivo and in vitro studies indicate that cuticular chemicals from the ventral region of the abdomen where the sternal gland of the dampwood termite Zootermopsis angusticollis is located have fungistatic properties. Germination rates of conidia of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae were significantly reduced from 91% (controls) to 38.5% after nymphs walked over conidia-seeded agar medium, but did not differ from controls when the sternal gland and surrounding cuticle were sealed with nail polish. In vitro studies show that germination of fungal conidia was also significantly reduced following incubation with cuticular extracts of either sternal or tergal segments suggesting that cuticular exudates in general may have antifungal properties. Extracts of sternites had greater fungistatic activity than extracts of tergites, but the difference was not statistically significant. Extracts of the sternal gland significantly reduced germination rates by up to 9%. Germination rates were significantly reduced when conidia were incubated with n-hexanoic acid, or its vapor. n-Hexanoic acid has been recovered from whole body extracts of Zootermopsis nevadensis and may indeed be a component of the sternal gland of Z. angusticollis. Here we suggest that sternal gland secretions in termites may have had the original function of controlling microbes within the nest and their prominent role in communication may have evolved secondarily.
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Received 18 April 2003; revised 20 November and 17 December 2003; accepted 19 January 2004.
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Rosengaus, R.B., Traniello, J.F.A., Lefebvre, M.L. et al. Fungistatic activity of the sternal gland secretion of the dampwood termite Zootermopsis angusticollis. Insect. Soc. 51, 259–264 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-004-0749-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-004-0749-x