| [protein composition of venoms from several species of tropical ants and their effect on mitochondrial h+-atpase]. | protein compositions of venoms of south-american stinging ants, ectatomma tuberculatum, paraponera clavata (subfamily ponerinae), and "tangarana" were analyzed. the venom of e. tuberculatum displayed the most complex protein composition (more than 15 polypeptides). the water-soluble fraction of the venoms of p. clavata and "tangarana" contained acidic proteins (pi < 3.5 to 5.2), whereas the venom of e. tuberculatum contained predominantly basic proteins (pi 8 to > 9.5). n-terminal residues and n ... | 1995 | 8540897 |
| sugary food robbing in ants: a case of temporal cleptobiosis. | this study reports new information on interactions between ectatomma tuberculatum (ponerinae) and crematogaster limata parabiotica (myrmicinae). workers of these sympatric arboreal ant species forage on the same pioneer trees. diurnally, ectatomma preyed on crematogaster workers that avoided overt aggression by respecting a 'safe distance'. at night, crematogaster initiated raids within the ectatomma nests that they apparently left with their abdomen empty, then remained near the nest entrances ... | 2004 | 15255481 |
| effect of different ant species on reproductive fitness of schomburgkia tibicinis (orchidaceae). | we studied the effect of four ant species on the reproductive fitness (number of fruits produced) of schomburgkia tibicinis (orchidaceae), in the coast of yucatan, mexico. ants forage day and night for the nectar produced by the reproductive structures of the orchid. ant size is: camponotus planatus (3-4 mm), c. abdominalis (4-6 mm), c. rectangularis (7-9 mm), and ectatomma tuberculatum (9-12 mm). the results indicate that ant efficiency in disrupting the activities of the main herbivore, (steth ... | 1989 | 28312641 |
| nestmate-brood recognition among workers of different social status in ectatomma tuberculatum olivier (formicidae, ponerinae). | experiments were carried out to test nestmate-brood recognition in the neotropical ant species ectatomma tuberculatum, belonging to the primitive subfamily ponerinae. in the same laboratory colonies, two behavioural subcastes, nurses and foragers, were given simultaneous choices between nestmate and non-nestmate brood (larvae or cocoons). nurses and foragers dramatically differed in their response during the choice test. qualitative differences appeared in the type of brood tending displayed by ... | 1992 | 24896466 |
| toxic principle of selva ant venom is a pore-forming protein transformer. | ectatomin (ea) is a newly isolated main toxic component of ectatomma tuberculatum ant venom. structural and electrophysiological studies were performed with purified ea. the protein consists of two homologous polypeptide chains (37 and 34 residues) and forms a four alpha-helix bundle in aqueous solution. on insertion into artificial bilayer membranes, two ea molecules form an ion pore. our results suggest that the 'inside-out' mechanism of pore formation requires a significant movement of ea hel ... | 1994 | 8033986 |
| [structure-activity study of the basic toxic component of venom from the ant ectatomma tuberculatum]. | a toxic principle of the ectatomma tuberculatum ant venom called ectatomin was isolated. ectatomin is a protein with molecular weight 7928 da. its complete amino acid sequence and spatial structure in aqueous solution were determined by protein chemistry methods and nmr spectroscopy techniques. ectatomin contains two highly homologous polypeptide chains linked to each other by a disulfide bond. the chains consist of 37 and 34 amino acid residues with an internal disulfide bridge in each. in aque ... | 2006 | 7826413 |
| three-dimensional structure of ectatomin from ectatomma tuberculatum ant venom. | two-dimensional 1h nmr techniques were used to determine the spatial structure of ectatomin, a toxin from the venom of the ant ectatomma tuberculatum. nearly complete proton resonance assignments for two chains of ectatomin (37 and 34 amino acid residues, respectively) were obtained using 2d tocsy, dqf-cosy and noesy experiments. the cross-peak volumes in noesy spectra were used to define the local structure of the protein and generate accurate proton-proton distance constraints employing the ma ... | 1995 | 7881269 |
| the role of microgynes in the reproductive strategy of the neotropical ant ectatomma ruidum. | miniaturized queens, microgynes, are regarded as an alternative reproductive strategy sparsely present through the ant world. the described roles of miniaturized queens include alternative short-distance dispersal morphs, an adaptation to polygyny and inquiline parasites. some of these inquiline parasite microgynes have been described as a separate species from their host. in the poneromorph group, miniaturized queens are only reported in two mexican populations of two ectatomminae: ectatomma tu ... | 2011 | 21380620 |
| the role of learning in risk-avoidance strategies during spider-ant interactions. | cognitive abilities used by arthropods, particularly predators, when interacting in a natural context have been poorly studied. two neotropical sympatric predators, the golden silk spider nephila clavipes and the ectatommine ant ectatomma tuberculatum, were observed in field conditions where their interactions occurred regularly due to the exploitation of the same patches of vegetation. repeated presentations of e. tuberculatum workers ensnared in their web triggered a progressive decrease in th ... | 2014 | 23771493 |
| linear antimicrobial peptides from ectatomma quadridens ant venom. | venoms from three poneromorph ant species (paraponera clavata, ectatomma quadridens and ectatomma tuberculatum) were investigated for the growth inhibition of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. it was shown that the venom of e. quadridens and its peptide fraction in particular possess marked antibacterial action. three linear antimicrobial peptides sharing low similarity to the well-known ponericin peptides were isolated from this ant venom by means of size-exclusion and reversed-phase ch ... | 2014 | 25220871 |
| how to escape from the host nest: imperfect chemical mimicry in eucharitid parasitoids and exploitation of the ants' hygienic behavior. | communication in ants is based to a great extent on chemical compounds. recognition of intruders is primarily based on cuticular hydrocarbon (chc) profile matching but is prone to being cheated. eucharitid wasps are specific parasitoids of the brood of ants; the immature stages are either well integrated within the colony or are protected within the host cocoons, whereas adult wasps at emergence must leave their host nest to reproduce and need to circumvent the ant recognition system to escape u ... | 2015 | 25770980 |
| juvenile hormone downregulates vitellogenin production in ectatomma tuberculatum (hymenoptera: formicidae) sterile workers. | in the ant ectatomma tuberculatum (olivier 1792), workers have active ovaries and lay trophic eggs that are eaten by the queen and larvae. vitellogenins are the main proteins found in the eggs of insects and are the source of nutrients for the embryo in the fertilized eggs and for adults in the trophic eggs. in social insects, vitellogenin titres vary between castes and affect reproductive social status, nursing, foraging, longevity, somatic maintenance, and immunity. in most insects, vitellogen ... | 2016 | 26567344 |
| comparisons of protein and peptide complexity in poneroid and formicoid ant venoms. | animal venom peptides are currently being developed as novel drugs and bioinsecticides. because ants use venoms for defense and predation, venomous ants represent an untapped source of potential bioactive toxins. this study compared the protein and peptide components of the poneroid ants neoponera commutata, neoponera apicalis, and odontomachus hastatus and the formicoid ants ectatomma tuberculatum, ectatomma brunneum, and myrmecia gulosa. 1d and 2d page revealed venom proteins in the mass range ... | 2016 | 27436154 |
| temporal variation of vitellogenin synthesis in ectatomma tuberculatum (formicidae: ectatomminae) workers. | workers of the ant species ectatomma tuberculatum (ectatomminae) have active ovaries and lay eggs that are eaten by the queen and larvae (trophic eggs). vitellogenins are the main proteins found in the eggs of insects and are a source of nutrients. the aim of this study was to characterize the period of vitellogenin production in workers of e. tuberculatum. the vitellogenin was identified from queen and worker eggs by sds-page. anti-vitellogenin antibodies were obtained and used to detect this p ... | 2011 | 21536045 |
| glandular epithelium as a possible source of a fertility signal in ectatomma tuberculatum (hymenoptera: formicidae) queens. | the wax layer covering the insect's cuticle plays an important protective role, as for example, uncontrolled water loss. in social insects, wax production is well-known in some bees that use it for nest building. curiously, mated-fertile queens of the ant ectatomma tuberculatum produce an uncommon extra-wax coat and, consequently queens (mated-fertile females) are matte due to such extra cuticular hydrocarbon (chc) coat that covers the cuticle and masks the brightness of the queens' cuticle whil ... | 2010 | 20419093 |
| postmating changes in cuticular chemistry and visual appearance in ectatomma tuberculatum queens (formicidae: ectatomminae). | in the ectatommine ant ectatomma tuberculatum, the visual appearance of queens changes after mating and ovarian development in that their cuticle turns from shiny to matte. in this study, we have shown that this change seems to be caused by 15-fold accumulation of hydrocarbons, in particular heptacosane that covers the multiple grooves present on the cuticular surface creating a wax coat in mated fully fertile queens. analyses of the scrapped wax revealed that it is composed largely of heptacosa ... | 2008 | 17724573 |
| ants visit nectaries of epidendrum denticulatum (orchidaceae) in a brazilian rainforest: effects on herbivory and pollination. | epidendrum denticulatum (orchidaceae) produces nectar on the petioles of buds, flowers, and fruits (extrafloral nectaries) but no nectar is found on its flowers, and it is probably a deceptive species. in the brazilian atlantic rainforest, some aspects of both the ecology and behavior of camponotus sericeiventris (formicinae) and ectatomma tuberculatum (ponerinae), two ant species foraging on e. denticulatum extrafloral nectaries, were investigated. both experiments, using termites as baits and ... | 2004 | 15029366 |
| analysis of ectatomin action on cell membranes. | ectatomin (m = 7928 da) is a toxic component from the ectatomma tuberculatum ant venom containing two homologous polypeptide chains (37 and 34 residues) linked to each other by a disulfide bond. in aqueous solution it forms a four alpha-helix bundle. at concentrations of 0.05-0.1 microm, ectatomin forms channels in cellular and artificial bilayer membranes. immunochemical analysis of the intracellular distribution of ectatomin showed that the toxin gets efficiently inserted into the plasma membr ... | 1999 | 10336635 |
| [recombinant proteins containing amino acid sequences of two ectatomin chains]. | artificial genes for chains a and b of ectatomin, an ectatomma tuberculatum ant toxin, were obtained by chemical and enzymic synthesis and cloned into new plasmid vectors. expression plasmids with the genes of hybrid proteins were constructed containing human interleukin-3 or its terminal 63-mer fragment as well as chains a and b of ectatomin, which are linked via a region containing the cleavage site of specific protease, enterokinase (hybrid proteins il3etoxa, il3etoxb, iletoxa, and iletoxb). ... | 1997 | 9499370 |