Abstract：
Open wounds pose major infection and mortality risks in animals.1,2 To reduce these risks, many animal species apply antimicrobial compounds on their wounds.1,2,3,4 Ant societies use antimicrobial secretions from the metapleural gland to combat pathogens,5,6,7,8,9,10 but this gland has been lost over evolutionary time in several genera, including Camponotus.11 To understand how infected wounds are handled without the use of antimicrobial secretions from the metapleural gland, we conducted behavioral and microbiological experiments in Camponotus floridanus. When we experimentally injured a worker\'s leg at the femur, nestmates amputated the injured limb by biting the base (trochanter) of the leg until it was severed, thereby significantly increasing survival compared to ants that did not receive amputations. However, when the experimental injury was more distal (at the tibia), nestmates did not amputate the leg and instead directed more wound care to the injury site. Experimental amputations also failed to improve survival in ants with infected tibia injuries unless the leg was amputated immediately after pathogen exposure. Micro-CT scans revealed that the muscles likely responsible for leg hemolymph circulation are predominantly in the femur. Thus, it is likely that femur injuries, by attenuating hemolymph flow, provide sufficient time for workers to perform amputations before pathogen spread. Overall, this study provides the first example of the use of amputations to treat infected individuals in a non-human animal and demonstrates that ants can adapt their type of treatment depending on the location of wounds.
摘要：
开放性伤口对动物造成重大感染和死亡风险。许多动物在其伤口上使用抗菌化合物1,2,3,4蚂蚁社团使用胸膜下腺的抗菌分泌物来对抗病原体,5,6,7,8,9,10，但是这个腺体在几个属的进化时间里已经丢失了，包括Camponotus.11为了了解感染的伤口是如何处理的，而不使用抗菌分泌物从胸膜腺体，我们在Floridanus中进行了行为和微生物学实验。当我们实验性地伤害一名工人的大腿时，邻居们咬住腿部的基部（转子）直到切断，从而截肢受伤的肢体，因此，与未接受截肢的蚂蚁相比，存活率显着提高。然而,当实验性损伤更远（在胫骨）时，巢穴没有截肢，而是对受伤部位进行了更多的伤口护理。除非在病原体暴露后立即截肢，否则实验性截肢也无法提高胫骨感染的蚂蚁的存活率。Micro-CT扫描显示，可能负责腿部血淋巴循环的肌肉主要在股骨中。因此，很可能是股骨受伤,通过减弱血淋巴流动，在病原体传播之前为工人提供足够的时间进行截肢。总的来说,这项研究提供了使用截肢治疗非人类动物感染个体的第一个例子，并证明蚂蚁可以根据伤口的位置调整其治疗类型。
