TY - JOUR A1 - Aumont, Cedric A1 - Beránková, T. A1 - McMahon, Dino Peter A1 - Radek, R. A1 - Akama, P. D. A1 - Sillam-Dussès, D. A1 - Sobotnik, J. ED - Scholtz, G. T1 - The ultrastructure of the rostral gland in soldiers of Verrucositermes tuberosus (Blattodea: Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae) JF - Arthropod Structure & Development N2 - The soil-feeding habit is an evolutionary novelty found in some advanced groups of termites. The study of such groups is important to revealing interesting adaptations to this way-of-life. The genus Verrucositermes is one such example, characterized by peculiar outgrowths on the head capsule, antennae and maxillary palps, which are not found in any other termite. These structures have been hypothesized to be linked to the presence of a new exocrine organ, the rostral gland, whose structure has remained unexplored. We have thus studied the ultrastructure of the epidermal layer of the head capsule of Verrucositermes tuberosus soldiers.We describe the ultrastructure of the rostral gland, which consists of class 3 secretory cells only. The dominant secretory organelles comprise rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus, which provide secretions delivered to the surface of the head, likely made of peptide-derived components of unclear function. We discuss a possible role of the rostral gland of soldiers as an adaptation to the frequent encounter with soil pathogens during search for new food resources. KW - Soil-feeding habit KW - Advanced groups of termites KW - New exocrine organ KW - Rostral gland KW - Epidemal layer KW - Peptide-derived components PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2023.101238 SN - 1467-8039 VL - 73 SP - 1 EP - 5 PB - Elsevier Ltd. CY - London, UK AN - OPUS4-57046 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Armitage, S. AO A1 - Genersch, E. A1 - McMahon, Dino Peter A1 - Rafaluk-Mohr, C. A1 - Rolff, J. ED - Milutinovic, B. ED - Armitage, S. AO T1 - Tripartite interactions: how immunity, microbiota and pathogens interact and affect pathogen virulence evolution$ JF - Insect Science N2 - The bipartite interactions between insect hosts and their bacterial gut microbiota, or their bacterial pathogens, are empirically and theoretically well-explored. However, direct, and indirect tripartite interactions will also likely occur inside a host. These interactions will almost certainly affect the trajectory of pathogen virulence evolution, an area that is currently under researched. The interactions within tripartite associations can be competitive, that is, exploitative-competition, interference-competition or apparent-competition. Competitive interactions will be significantly influenced by non-competitive effects, for example, immunopathology, immunosuppression, and microbiota-mediated tolerance. Considering a combination of these interactions and effects, will enable an increased understanding of the evolution of pathogen virulence. This new perspective allows us to identify several novel research questions, which we hope will be a useful framework for future research. KW - Tripartite interactions KW - Community-level interactions KW - Microbiota KW - Pathogen virulence KW - Host immunity PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/J.cois.2021.12.011 VL - 50 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier Inc. CY - Amsterdam, Netherlands AN - OPUS4-54357 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -