There is always a lot of activity in ant colonies because there is a lot to do: the brood has to be looked after, its burrow has to be looked after and food has to be procured. The latter can be particularly dangerous for the African Matabele ants in their diet. They only eat termites. When the prey uses its powerful pincers to defend itself, injuries often occur during the hunt.
However, a research team led by Erik Frank from the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg and Laurent Keller from the University of Lausanne has observed a fascinating ability in the Matabele ants: The insects can distinguish between uninfected and infected wounds in their own species. They treat the latter with antibiotics that they produce themselves.
They take the antibiotic-containing secretion from the metapleural gland, in which so-called formic acid is produced. For direct treatment, the ants apply the antimicrobial compounds and proteins to the infected wounds. The research group found that therapy with the secretion, which contains 112 components, works perfectly in most cases: the mortality of infected individuals is reduced by 90 percent.
Keller emphasizes that the results “have medical significance, as the primary pathogen is found in ant wounds, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is also a major cause of infection in humans, with several strains of bacteria resistant to antibiotics.” Future research should analyze the secretion in more detail to investigate possible applications in humans.