Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profiling by Fractionation and GC-MS in Socially Parasitic Ants.
Bio Protoc
; 13(13): e4772, 2023 Jul 05.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37456338
ABSTRACT
Ants use cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) as a semiochemical for recognizing their nestmates. For socially parasitic ants, deceiving the CHC is an important survival strategy. Profiling and quantifying CHC is a potent approach to understanding such nestmate discrimination behavior. Thus, a highly efficient, stable, and reproducible extraction method for CHC is essential for this purpose. This paper describes a method for socially parasitic ants to disguise the host species' CHC profile under laboratory conditions, as well as the extraction and measurement of CHC from ants (from a previous study). First, the artificial isotopic substance is applied to the host worker; then, the socially parasitic ant disguises the host-like CHC profile against the above host worker. Next, the CHC is extracted and fractionated from a socially parasitic ant using hexane and silica gel. After concentrating the fractionated product, this product is then used for measurement by gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS). The CHC extraction protocol described in this paper may be used for various ant species.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Bio Protoc
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Japão