The world of ants has long fascinated scientists due to the precise organization governing their colonies, where every individual seems to perform a specific job—from caring for the young to securing food and protecting the nest—within a complex collective system.
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However, a recent scientific study published in Le Monde newspaper revealed that this division of labor does not depend solely on age or external conditions. Instead, it is linked to molecular changes within the ant's brain itself, opening a new window into understanding how behavior evolves in social creatures.
The Brain Dictates the Ant's Role
Researchers from Rockefeller University in New York focused on a species known as the clonal raider ant (Ooceraea biroi). This species represents an exceptional case among social insects because it lacks a queen; the workers themselves are responsible for continuing the colony.
A worker ant's life begins inside the nest, where it dedicates its first few months to caring for eggs, larvae, and pupae. Later, it transitions to a completely different task: venture outside to forage and secure the colony's needs.
Despite the lack of genetic differences between nursing ants and foraging ants, scientists wanted to discover what changes the behavior of these creatures at an internal level.
Two Proteins Control the Behavioral Shift
During the study, researchers analyzed dozens of neuropeptides in the ants' brains—small molecules that act as messengers between neurons—to determine their impact on the insects' behavior.
The team successfully identified two key proteins that appear linked to the ant's transition between nursing and foraging roles.
The researchers explained that the protein NPF promotes nursing behavior, while the protein AstA reduces it. They noted that the levels of these two proteins naturally shift as the ant ages and moves from one stage to another.
A Surprising Link Between Hunger and Nursing
Interestingly, these two proteins are not unique to ants; they play roles in many insects and mammals, where they are linked to regulating hunger.
When some ants were deprived of food, scientists noticed a change in their neuropeptide levels. Older ants returned to staying near the young instead of going out to forage, a behavior indicating a link between hunger circuits and caretaking behavior.
The researchers believe that maternal care and nursing may have evolved by utilizing neural circuits that originally existed to regulate feeding.
What Do Ants Reveal About Humans?
Scientists believe that studying ant brains could yield valuable information on how behavior changes with age, especially since many of the molecules regulating brain function are shared between insects and humans.
The researchers noted that humans observe changes in their own interests and behaviors as they grow older, a phenomenon that also appears in ants. This makes these tiny insects an exciting model for studying the evolution of the brain and behavior.
Scientists believe that understanding these mechanisms in ants may help explain in the future how brain functions change across living organisms, including humans.
