* Co-first authors
Table of contents
Introduction ... 9
Preamble ...11
1. Initial steps of the ant colony lifecycle ...15
1.1. Mating ...15
1.2. Colony foundation ...19
2. Sperm storage ...20
3. Immunity during mating, colony foundation and sperm storage ...21
4. Model species ...25
4.1. Lasius niger ...25
4.2. Leaf-cutting ants ...26
5. Objectives ...28
Chapter 1. The impact of mating on queen gene expression ...39
Mating triggers an up-regulation of fecundity and immune genes in ant queens Chérasse, S.*, Dacquin, P.* & Aron S. Submitted to Journal of Insect Physiology ...41
Chapter 2. The interplay between sperm storage and immunity ...61
Ant sperm storage organs do not have phenoloxidase constitutive immune activity Dávila, F.*, Chérasse, S.*, Boomsma, J.J. & Aron, S. 2015. Journal of Insect Physiology 78 ...63
Antibacterial activity of male and female sperm-storage organs in ants Dávila, F., Botteaux, A., Bauman, D., Chérasse, S. & Aron, S. 2018. Journal of Experimental Biology 221 ...69
Differential immune gene expression in sperm storage organs of leaf-cutting ants Chérasse, S., Baer, B., Schiøtt, M. & Boomsma, J.J. 2018. Journal of Experimental Biology 221 ...87
Impact of immune activation on stored sperm viability in ant queens Chérasse, S. & Aron, S. 2018. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 285 ...99
Chapter 3. Ant queens as models for studying hormonal functions in relation to behavior ...111
Measuring inotocin receptor gene expression in chronological order in ant queens Chérasse, S. & Aron, S. 2017. Hormones and Behavior 96 ...113
Discussion ...119
Before mating ...123
After mating ...124
Conclusions ...129