期刊
REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE ENTOMOLOGIA
卷 60, 期 4, 页码 308-311出版社
SOC BRASILEIRA ENTOMOLOGIA
DOI: 10.1016/j.rbe.2016.06.008
关键词
Atta sexdens; Cuticular hydrocarbons; Leafcutter ants; Worker wsubcaste
类别
资金
- National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo [Fapesp 2010/10027-5]
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [10/10027-5] Funding Source: FAPESP
In leafcutter ants the division of labour is associated to worker size variation clustered in four subcastes. In this work we used Atta sexdens Forel (1908) as a model to test the hypothesis that each subcaste expresses its own chemical signature comprised of cuticular lipids. To assess it, we extracted epicuticular compounds by using nonpolar solvent hexane and analysed the samples in a combined Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). We found 24 hydrocarbons with carbon chains ranging from 19 to 39 atoms most of them classified as linear and branched alkanes. No compound occurred in the cuticle of specific worker subcaste, however, the relative proportion pattern varied greatly among them. Our results suggest that although subcastes have similar chemical signatures, significant differences in their relative proportions may play an important role between nestmate and group identification. (C) 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.
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