Biogenic amine levels, reproduction and social dominance in the queenless ant Streblognathus peetersi

Social harmony often relies on ritualised dominance interactions between society members, particularly in queenless ant societies, where colony members do not have developmentally predetermined castes but have to fight for their status in the reproductive and work hierarchy. In this behavioural plasticity, their social organisation resembles more that of vertebrates than that of the “classic” social insects. The present study investigates the neurochemistry of the queenless ant species, Streblognathus peetersi, to better understand the neural basis of the high behavioural plasticity observed in queenless ants. We report measurements of brain biogenic amines [octopamine, dopamine, serotonin] of S. peetersi ants; they reveal a new set of biogenic amine influences on social organisation with no common features with other “primitively organised societies” (bumble bees) and some common features with “highly eusocial” species (honey bees). This similarity to honey bees may either confirm the heritage of queenless species from their probably highly eusocial ancestors or highlight independent patterns of biogenic amine influences on the social organisation of these highly derived species.     

Impact of UV-irradiation on the formation of odorous chloroaldimines in drinking water

In order to explain some of the possible origins of an odor episode which took place in a drinking water supply in the region of Paris (France), the impact of disinfection on the formation of odorous by-products was investigated. We have previously established that very odorous and stable chloroaldimines are formed during amino acid chlorination in conditions relevant to those of drinking water treatment. As chlorination is preceded by a UV-irradiation step, we examined here the impact of this irradiation on the formation of chloroaldimines. Irradiation (30 m W cm(-2)) of various amino acids (glycine, valine, phenylalanine) and peptides (Phe-Gly-Gly-Phe, Phe-Ala) led to a degradation of the compounds but it was negligible at the doses applied in drinking water supplies. As peptides were concerned, contrary to what we previously expected, the degradation did not involve the peptidic bond breaking: irradiation induces therefore no increase in the quantity of free amino acids, precursors of odorous chloroaldimines. However chlorination of peptides (Phe-Ala-Ala-Val, Phe-Gly-Gly-Phe and Ala-Phe) showed that chloroaldimines are also probably formed during combined amino acids chlorination.