Explosive Backpacks in Old Termite Workers

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This publication doesn't include Faculty of Economics and Administration. It includes Central European Institute of Technology. Official publication website can be found on muni.cz.

Authors	ŠOBOTNÍK Jan BOURGUIGNON Thomas HANUS Robert DEMIANOVA Z. PYTELKOVA J. MARES M. FOLTYNOVÁ Pavla PREISLER Jan CVACKA Josef KRASULOVÁ Jana ROISIN Y.
Year of publication	2012
Type	Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source	Science
MU Faculty or unit	Central European Institute of Technology
Citation
Web	http://www.sciencemag.org/content/337/6093/436
Doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1219129
Field	Analytic chemistry
Keywords	termite; SALD ICP MS; copper
Description	By nature, defensive behavior is risky. In social insects, such behavior is more likely to occur in individuals whose potential for other tasks is diminished. We show that workers of the termite Neocapritermes taracua develop an exceptional two-component suicidal apparatus consisting of copper-containing protein crystals, stored in external pouches, and internal salivary glands. During aggressive encounters, their bodies rupture, and the crystals react with the salivary gland secretion to produce a toxic droplet. Both the amount of defensive substances and the readiness to explode increase with workers’ age, as their food-collecting ability declines.
Related projects:	CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology Nové strategie úpravy vzorků pro desorpční hmotnostní spektrometrii