2025/05/06 by Jason Rissanen, Dalial Freitak · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Insect and Pesticide Research #Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
paper · pdf · doi:10.1242/bio.061928
openalex publication_date 2025/05/06 · openalex created_date 2025/05/07 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Nicotine is a naturally occurring alkaloid that has acute toxic effects for insects and affects their behaviour even in sublethal amounts. In addition, nicotine is shown to accumulate and pollute environments through the use of commercially produced pesticides and tobacco products. We investigated how nicotine-polluted diets in two different concentrations impacted colony fitness in the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, compared to a nicotine-free diet. We measured brood production and development, changes in relative abundances of bacterial endosymbionts, and worker survival in combination with a fungal pathogen. Chronic exposure to nicotine caused a concentration-dependent effect in enhancing the lethality of the fungal infection, with higher concentrations causing higher mortality in infected colonies. In the absence of pathogens, nicotine had no effect on worker survival. Furthermore, nicotine did not affect brood production or development, nor clearly affect the abundances of the bacterial endosymbionts. Our results show that nicotine pollution in the environment can negatively affect ant fitness through synergistic effects in combination with a fungal pathogen. Pathogens play a significant part in the decline of insects, and the influence that nicotine pollution may have in exacerbating them should receive more attention.