2024/12/18 by Aayesha Nangia, Mabel González, Lauren A. O’Connell +1
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Insect and Pesticide Research #Plant and animal studies
paper · doi:10.17912/micropub.biology.001475
openalex publication_date 2024/12/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
during chemotaxis assays. Here, we asked if variation in Argentine ant chemical extracts was related to collection location on the Stanford campus. We collected Argentine ants from five different locations and analyzed differences in their chemical profiles. Using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, we found variation in ant chemical profiles based on location collected, where many metabolites contributed to these differences. Five of these compounds were successfully annotated, including pyrazines that are known to have a repulsive function in insects. This work highlights the importance of sampling location impacting naturally-derived ant compounds and the importance of this variable in future chemotaxis assays in the classroom.