Gut-microbiome composition, single nucleotide polymorphisms, and differentially expressed genes correlate with aggression in an ant

Patrick Krapf, Francesco Cicconardi, Martin Schilling, Gerhard P Aigner, Thomas Klammsteiner, Manfred Ayasse, Wolfgang Arthofer, Alexander S Mikheyev, Florian M Steiner, Birgit C Schlick-Steiner · 2026

Read Gut-microbiome composition, single nucleotide polymorphisms, and differentially expressed genes correlate with aggression in an ant by Patrick Krapf, Francesco Cicconardi, Martin Schilling, Gerhard P Aigner, Thomas Klammsteiner, Manfred Ayasse, Wolfgang Arthofer, Alexander S Mikheyev, Florian M Steiner, Birgit C Schlick-Steiner (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13524771.txt.

Description

Patrick Krapf and a team of co-authors look for traits that line up with the start of aggression in an ant. Their study appeared in twenty twenty-six. Aggression helps animals compete for food, but what triggers the first attack is still poorly understood.

The team checked four kinds of traits: chemicals, gut microbes, gene variants, and gene activity. Nine bacterial groups, changes in two genes, and eight genes with altered activity each tracked with starting a fight or with how nestmates reacted. The microbe links point toward hormone signals. The gene links point toward nerve and synapse function. The authors suggest the traits may act together and could play a role in how aggression evolved.

Catalog record

CREATORPatrick Krapf, Francesco Cicconardi, Martin Schilling, Gerhard P Aigner, Thomas Klammsteiner, Manfred Ayasse, Wolfgang Arthofer, Alexander S Mikheyev, Florian M Steiner, Birgit C Schlick-Steiner
YEAR2026
COLLECTIONPAPERS
FORMATTXT
FILE SIZE99 KB
VERSION1.0
LICENSECC BY 4.0
RIGHTSCC BY
SOURCEEurope PMC

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13524771

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