Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.5
3.9
Journals
Toxins
Special Issues
Ant Venom
share announcement

Ant Venom

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Venoms".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 32790

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Axel Touchard

E-Mail
Guest Editor
CNRS, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, CIRAD, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane), 97310 Kourou, France
Interests: ant; venom; peptide; chemical ecology
Prof. Dr. Alain Dejean

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Laboratoire Écologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse INP, Université Toulouse 3 – Paul Sabatier (UPS), Toulouse, France

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Along with a great ecological and behavioral plasticity, ants (Formicidae) are very diverse, with 17 extant subfamilies, 339 genera, and about 14,000 species described. They use a vast array of molecules in their eusociality. Among them, those contained in their venoms have greatly contributed to the fact that ants dominate almost all terrestrial environments. Indeed, ant venoms are versatile as they are involved not only in prey capture or self-defense like most venomous animals, but also in colony defense against arthropod and vertebrate predators, microbial pathogen control, communication (e.g., trail and alarm pheromones), the detoxification of the venom of other ants and, in symbiotic ant–plant mutualisms, the elimination of plants competing with their host myrmecophytes (i.e., plants sheltering ants in specific hollow structures). Ant venoms can be sprayed or more generally injected through a stinger (sharp stingers), topically applied (spatula-shaped stingers), and even secreted as a foam. Consequently, ant venoms are characterized by one of the highest chemical diversities in animals, something illustrated by a vast arsenal of toxins including formic acid, alkaloids, peptides, enzymes, and a set of small organic compounds. Moreover, research on alkaloids and the growing number of recent studies focusing on peptides prove that ant venoms are an attractive source of new bioactive molecules with applications for agriculture and medicine. So far, only a small fraction of ant venoms has been examined, and further research is necessary to discover the entire range of these painful and deadly secretions. This Special Issue aims to cover all different aspects of research on ant venoms including chemical ecology, evolution, functional studies, and potential applications with the discovery of novel toxins which may become useful tools in biopesticide or drug development.

Dr. Axel Touchard
Prof. Dr. Alain Dejean
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Hymenoptera
  • Formicidae
  • Insect venoms
  • Peptides
  • Alkaloids
  • Formic acid
  • Venomous social animals

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (8 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 1968 KiB  
Article
Discovery of an Insect Neuroactive Helix Ring Peptide from Ant Venom
by Valentine Barassé, Laurence Jouvensal, Guillaume Boy, Arnaud Billet, Steven Ascoët, Benjamin Lefranc, Jérôme Leprince, Alain Dejean, Virginie Lacotte, Isabelle Rahioui, Catherine Sivignon, Karen Gaget, Mélanie Ribeiro Lopes, Federica Calevro, Pedro Da Silva, Karine Loth, Françoise Paquet, Michel Treilhou, Elsa Bonnafé and Axel Touchard
Toxins 2023, 15(10), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15100600 - 5 Oct 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2954
Abstract
Ants are among the most abundant terrestrial invertebrate predators on Earth. To overwhelm their prey, they employ several remarkable behavioral, physiological, and biochemical innovations, including an effective paralytic venom. Ant venoms are thus cocktails of toxins finely tuned to disrupt the physiological systems [...] Read more.
Ants are among the most abundant terrestrial invertebrate predators on Earth. To overwhelm their prey, they employ several remarkable behavioral, physiological, and biochemical innovations, including an effective paralytic venom. Ant venoms are thus cocktails of toxins finely tuned to disrupt the physiological systems of insect prey. They have received little attention yet hold great promise for the discovery of novel insecticidal molecules. To identify insect-neurotoxins from ant venoms, we screened the paralytic activity on blowflies of nine synthetic peptides previously characterized in the venom of Tetramorium bicarinatum. We selected peptide U11, a 34-amino acid peptide, for further insecticidal, structural, and pharmacological experiments. Insecticidal assays revealed that U11 is one of the most paralytic peptides ever reported from ant venoms against blowflies and is also capable of paralyzing honeybees. An NMR spectroscopy of U11 uncovered a unique scaffold, featuring a compact triangular ring helix structure stabilized by a single disulfide bond. Pharmacological assays using Drosophila S2 cells demonstrated that U11 is not cytotoxic, but suggest that it may modulate potassium conductance, which structural data seem to corroborate and will be confirmed in a future extended pharmacological investigation. The results described in this paper demonstrate that ant venom is a promising reservoir for the discovery of neuroactive insecticidal peptides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ant Venom)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 1986 KiB  
Article
Antimicrobial Peptide Arsenal Predicted from the Venom Gland Transcriptome of the Tropical Trap-Jaw Ant Odontomachus chelifer
by Josilene J. Menk, Yan E. Matuhara, Henrique Sebestyen-França, Flávio Henrique-Silva, Milene Ferro, Renata S. Rodrigues and Célio D. Santos-Júnior
Toxins 2023, 15(5), 345; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15050345 - 18 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2649
Abstract
With about 13,000 known species, ants are the most abundant venomous insects. Their venom consists of polypeptides, enzymes, alkaloids, biogenic amines, formic acid, and hydrocarbons. In this study, we investigated, using in silico techniques, the peptides composing a putative antimicrobial arsenal from the [...] Read more.
With about 13,000 known species, ants are the most abundant venomous insects. Their venom consists of polypeptides, enzymes, alkaloids, biogenic amines, formic acid, and hydrocarbons. In this study, we investigated, using in silico techniques, the peptides composing a putative antimicrobial arsenal from the venom gland of the neotropical trap-jaw ant Odontomachus chelifer. Focusing on transcripts from the body and venom gland of this insect, it was possible to determine the gland secretome, which contained about 1022 peptides with putative signal peptides. The majority of these peptides (75.5%) were unknown, not matching any reference database, motivating us to extract functional insights via machine learning-based techniques. With several complementary methodologies, we investigated the existence of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in the venom gland of O. chelifer, finding 112 non-redundant candidates. Candidate AMPs were predicted to be more globular and hemolytic than the remaining peptides in the secretome. There is evidence of transcription for 97% of AMP candidates across the same ant genus, with one of them also verified as translated, thus supporting our findings. Most of these potential antimicrobial sequences (94.8%) matched transcripts from the ant’s body, indicating their role not solely as venom toxins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ant Venom)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

13 pages, 875 KiB  
Article
Testing the Novel Weapons Hypothesis of the Argentine Ant Venom on Amphibians
by Juan Pablo Llopart, Paloma Alvarez-Blanco, Lucía Moreira-Demarco, Alok Bang, Elena Angulo and Raúl Maneyro
Toxins 2023, 15(4), 235; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15040235 - 23 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3881
Abstract
The globally invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) possesses a venom lethal to some amphibian species in the invaded range. To test the novel weapons hypothesis (NWH), the effects of the toxin on the cohabiting amphibian species in the ant’s native range [...] Read more.
The globally invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) possesses a venom lethal to some amphibian species in the invaded range. To test the novel weapons hypothesis (NWH), the effects of the toxin on the cohabiting amphibian species in the ant’s native range need to be investigated. The invader should benefit from the novel chemical in the invaded range, because the species are not adapted, but the venom should not be effective in the native range. We explore the venom effects on juveniles of three amphibian species with different degrees of myrmecophagy inhabiting the ant’s native range: Rhinella arenarum, Odontophrynus americanus, and Boana pulchella. We exposed the amphibians to the ant venom, determined the toxic dose, and evaluated the short- (10 min to 24 h) and medium-term (14 days) effects. All amphibian species were affected by the venom independently of myrmecophagy. In addition to amphibian sensitivity, we discuss how the differential Argentine ant abundance and density in the two ranges could be the key to the susceptibility of amphibians to the venom, resulting in the possibility of NWH. Our results confirm the potential magnitude of the impact of the Argentine ant in successfully invaded areas for the conservation of already threatened amphibians. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ant Venom)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

14 pages, 1974 KiB  
Article
Studying the Rationale of Fire Ant Sting Therapy Usage by the Tribal Natives of Bastar Revealed Ant Venom-Derived Peptides with Promising Anti-Malarial Activity
by Jyoti Kumari, Raj Kumar Sah, Nazar Mohamed Mohaideen. S, Shakeel Ahmad, Soumya Pati and Shailja Singh
Toxins 2022, 14(11), 789; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins14110789 - 11 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5160
Abstract
Prevailing drug resistance in malaria imposes the major roadblock for the existing interventions necessitating the timely need to search for alternative therapies. Ants in Solenopsis spp, termed ’Fire ants’, are well known for their aggressive behavior, which leads to the release of [...] Read more.
Prevailing drug resistance in malaria imposes the major roadblock for the existing interventions necessitating the timely need to search for alternative therapies. Ants in Solenopsis spp, termed ’Fire ants’, are well known for their aggressive behavior, which leads to the release of toxic venom. Notably, the tribal natives of the malaria-laden densely forested Bastar region, Chhattisgarh, India, use fire ant sting-based therapy to cure malaria-like high fever. Inspired by this, we have collected the fire ants from the forest of Bastar and extracted peptide and alkaloid fractions from ant venom using HPLC and analyzed them by LC/MS-based applications. Evaluation of the anti-malarial efficacy of these peptide fractions demonstrated a significant reduction in the growth of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf 3D7) in vitro, whereas the alkaloid fraction showed a negligible effect. in vitro hemolytic activity confirmed the venom peptide fraction to be non-hemolytic. Additionally, the venom peptide fraction is purely non-toxic to HepG2 cells. Anti-malarial efficiency of the same in Plasmodium berghei ANKA infected mice models showed a drastic reduction in parasitemia representing promising anti-malarial activity. Overall, our study has unraveled the scientific rationale underlying fire ant sting therapy used as a tribal naturotherapy for curing malaria-like fever, thus, introducing a way forward to develop nature-inspired anti-malarial chemotherapeutics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ant Venom)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

14 pages, 3255 KiB  
Article
Composition and Acute Inflammatory Response from Tetraponera rufonigra Venom on RAW 264.7 Macrophage Cells
by Suwatjanee Naephrai, Supakit Khacha-ananda, Pornsiri Pitchakarn and Churdsak Jaikang
Toxins 2021, 13(4), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13040257 - 3 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3368
Abstract
Tetraponera rufonigra (Arboreal Bicoloured Ant) venom induces pain, inflammation, and anaphylaxis in people and has an increased incident in Southeast Asia regions. The bioactive components and mechanism of action of the ant venom are still limited. The aim of this research was to [...] Read more.
Tetraponera rufonigra (Arboreal Bicoloured Ant) venom induces pain, inflammation, and anaphylaxis in people and has an increased incident in Southeast Asia regions. The bioactive components and mechanism of action of the ant venom are still limited. The aim of this research was to identify the protein composition and inflammatory process of the ant venom by using RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. The major venom proteins are composed of 5’ nucleotidase, prolyl endopeptidase-like, aminopeptidase N, trypsin-3, venom protein, and phospholipase A2 (PLA2). The venom showed PLA2 activity and represented 0.46 μg of PLA2 bee venom equivalent/μg crude venom protein. The venom induced cytotoxic in a dose- and time-dependent manner with IC20 approximately at 4.01 µg/mL. The increased levels of COX-2 and PGE2 were observed after 1 h of treatment correlating with an upregulation of COX-2 expression. Moreover, the level of mPGES-1 expression was obviously increased after 12 h of venom induction. Hence, our results suggested that the induction of COX-2/mPGEs-1 pathway could be a direct pathway for the ant venom-induced inflammation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ant Venom)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

17 pages, 2296 KiB  
Article
Venom Function of a New Species of Megalomyrmex Forel, 1885 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
by Kyle Sozanski, Lívia Pires do Prado, Andrew J. Mularo, Victoria A. Sadowski, Tappey H. Jones and Rachelle M. M. Adams
Toxins 2020, 12(11), 679; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12110679 - 29 Oct 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4575
Abstract
Alkaloids are important metabolites found across a variety of organisms with diverse ecological functions. Of particular interest are alkaloids found in ants, organisms well known for dominating the ecosystems they dwell in. Within ants, alkaloids are found in venom and function as potent [...] Read more.
Alkaloids are important metabolites found across a variety of organisms with diverse ecological functions. Of particular interest are alkaloids found in ants, organisms well known for dominating the ecosystems they dwell in. Within ants, alkaloids are found in venom and function as potent weapons against heterospecific species. However, research is often limited to pest species or species with parasitic lifestyles and thus fails to address the broader ecological function of ant venom alkaloids. Here we describe a new species of free-living Megalomyrmex ant: Megalomyrmex peetersi sp. n. In addition, we identify its singular venom alkaloid (trans-2-butyl-5-heptylpyrrolidine) and elucidate the antibiotic and insecticidal functions of its venom. Our results show that Megalomyrmex peetersi sp. n. venom is an effective antibiotic and insecticide. These results are comparable to venom alkaloids found in other ant species, such as Solenopsis invicta. This research provides great insight into venom alkaloid function, and it is the first study to explore these ideas in the Megalomyrmex system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ant Venom)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

16 pages, 990 KiB  
Review
Chemistry and Functions of Imported Fire Ant Venom
by Jian Chen
Toxins 2023, 15(8), 489; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15080489 - 3 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3370
Abstract
In the United States, imported fire ants are often referred to as red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, black imported fire ants, S. richteri Forel, and their hybrid (S. invicta × S. richteri). Due to their aggressive stings and toxic [...] Read more.
In the United States, imported fire ants are often referred to as red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, black imported fire ants, S. richteri Forel, and their hybrid (S. invicta × S. richteri). Due to their aggressive stings and toxic venom, imported fire ants pose a significant threat to public health, agriculture, and ecosystem health. However, venom plays a vital role in the survival of fire ants by serving various crucial functions in defense, foraging, and colony health maintenance. Numerous reviews and book chapters have been published on fire ant venom. Due to its medical importance and the expanding global distribution of these ants, fire ant venom research remains an active and highly productive area, leading to the discovery of new components and functions. This review summarizes the recent advances in our understanding of fire ant venom chemistry and its functions within fire ant colonies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ant Venom)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 13784 KiB  
Review
Biological Activities and Ecological Significance of Fire Ant Venom Alkaloids
by Guangxin Xu and Li Chen
Toxins 2023, 15(7), 439; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15070439 - 3 Jul 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4441
Abstract
Venoms produced by arthropods act as chemical weapons to paralyze prey or deter competitors. The utilization of venom is an essential feature in the biology and ecology of venomous arthropods. Solenopsis fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are medically important venomous ants. They have acquired [...] Read more.
Venoms produced by arthropods act as chemical weapons to paralyze prey or deter competitors. The utilization of venom is an essential feature in the biology and ecology of venomous arthropods. Solenopsis fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are medically important venomous ants. They have acquired different patterns of venom use to maximize their competitive advantages rendered by the venom when facing different challenges. The major components of fire ant venom are piperidine alkaloids, which have strong insecticidal and antibiotic activities. The alkaloids protect fire ants from pathogens over the course of their lives and can be used to defend them from predators and competitors. They are also utilized by some of the fire ants’ natural enemies, such as phorid flies to locate host ants. Collectively, these ants’ diverse alkaloid compositions and functions have ecological significance for their survival, successful invasion, and rapid range expansion. The venom alkaloids with powerful biological activities may have played an important role in shaping the assembly of communities in both native and introduced ranges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ant Venom)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-8
Back to TopTop