CREAFTalk Erik Thomas Frank: Evolution of social wound care in ants and beyond

Erik Thomas Frank addresses the CREAFTalk 'Evolution of social wound care in ants and beyond'. Open wounds represent a significant risk of infection and mortality, driving diverse ant species to evolve sophisticated social wound care strategies. Megaponera analis employs therapeutic treatments on infected wounds with antimicrobial secretions from the metapleural gland, dramatically reducing mortality. Chemical analyses of these secretions identified numerous antimicrobial compounds and proteins. Conversely, Camponotus floridanus, lacking this gland, perform prophylactic limb amputations to halt infection spread. Dinoponera grandis conduct self-wound care using their front legs, while Eciton burchellii army ants exhibit “first aid” wound care behaviours near the raiding sites, followed by antimicrobial care inside the bivouac. These wound care behaviours highlight the evolutionary flexibility of cooperative behaviours under pathogenic pressures and the convergent emergence of functionally analogous solutions in response to a shared threat. Ultimately, the ubiquity of social wound care in ants and its major benefits, could help explain the ants ecological and evolutionary success, deserving equal attention to the altruistic sacrifices for which social insects are renowned.

Dr Frank leads an independent research group at the University of Würzburg funded by the DFG Emmy Noether Programme. His research integrates behavioural, chemical, and evolutionary ecology to understand how and why social insects diagnose and treat injuries, revealing striking parallels with human medicine and identifying promising antimicrobial compounds in the process.