Discoveries

March 06, 2024

The Healing Juice

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The Matebele ants of sub-Saharan Africa have a fearsome reputation.

Named after a southern African tribe, the ants hunt termites with military-like precision and they can go on up to five hunts a day.

Death and injury are guaranteed, but the industrious insects are also very skilled and methodical at healing their wounded comrades, the Washington Post reported.

Researcher Erik Frank and his team recently studied how the species – officially known as Megaponera – produces special antimicrobial compounds to cure the wounds of infected fellow ants.

Their paper focused on ants infected with the Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a harmful and often drug-resistant bacterium. The research team noticed that the precision hunters would bring in their injured comrades and apply an antibiotic substance to the wounds.

They produced these secretions from the metapleural gland, located on the side of their thorax. Frank explained that this healing juice had around 100 chemical compounds and 41 proteins to treat infections, which “allows them to have a multifaceted approach, like a broad-spectrum antibiotic.”

This cocktail also included a never-before-seen protein, which the team hopes to study more in the future.

Frank noted that what’s also unique about the Megaponera is their behavior when taking care of their wounded.

“To my surprise, they left behind the ants that were too heavily injured,” said Frank. “They were performing a type of triage.”

The authors hope to conduct more research on the sub-Saharan ants, as well as observe how other insect species in the world care for their injured.

They added that the findings could assist scientists in finding ways to fight drug-resistant bacteria, a growing threat that has made it difficult to treat certain infections.

This story originally appeared in the March 06, 2024 newsletter, On All Sides.