Project Details
Projekt
FormiDablE - Function, Diversity and Evolution of formicine ant venom peptides
Subject Area
Evolution, Anthropology
General Genetics and Functional Genome Biology
Animal Physiology and Biochemistry
Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
General Genetics and Functional Genome Biology
Animal Physiology and Biochemistry
Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
Term
since 2025
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 570426511
Venomous animals and the venoms they wield as a biochemical weapon for foraging and defense are a remarkable example of repeated evolution that can be used to study processes of adaptive evolution using comparative approaches. Species of the insect order Hymenoptera, including wasps, bees, and ants, are equipped with venoms that in most cases contain proteins and peptides as the principle active compounds. More than 50 years ago, a peptide fraction was discovered in the highly acidic, formic acid containing venoms of non-stinging ants of the subfamily Formicinae. Whilst recent work has revealed that formic acid serves not only as a chemical weapon but also plays a role in cognition and immune defence, up till now, the identities, functions, and evolutionary origins of these peptides have never been addressed. In preliminary work, we recently discovered several peptides in venoms of Camponotus (carpenter ants), which appear to be unique to the Formicinae ant subfamily. The aim of the present proposal is to 1) thoroughly investigate the content of venom peptides in additional Formicine species to uncover novel peptides and their genes, 2) to comprehensively study the diversity and evolution of these novel venom peptide gene families across all available formicine genomes including outgroup genomes of Myrmicinea and other Hymenoptera, and 3) to investigate their function using bioassays. To achieve this aim, we will combine organismic, comparative genomic and transcriptomic as well as analytical chemistry know-how and methods in this interdisciplinary proposal. This study will thus provide a hitherto unprecedented insight into venoms and evolutionary novel venom peptides of ants from the subfamily Formicinae. Additionally, results of this study will add to the expanding knowledge on molecular mechanisms underlying the origin, evolution, regulation and function of diverse animal venom systems.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
