Parasites As Fountain Of Youth? Study Finds Infected Ants Live Much Longer

Parasitic infections are usually harmful to their hosts, but there can be some exceptions. Scientists recently found that ants infected with a particular type of tapeworm live much longer than their other uninfected counterparts, according to Science Alert. The ants studied by scientists as part of multi-year study belong to Temnothorax nylanderi. It is normally a woodland bark-inhabiting species but occasionally nests under stones or inside acorns. The study found that physiology of the worker ants gets affected by parasites in such a manner that they live three times longer than their peers.

The parasite that affects these ants is a tapeworm called Anomotaenia brevis that is found in several types of woodpecker. Ants of the species Temnothorax nylanderi sometimes collect woodpecker faeces and take them back to the nest to feed to larvae. If there are tapeworm eggs in the faeces, they hatch with the unique infection that increases their lifespan.

But it also gives these ants a strangely idyllic lifestyle.

For example, the uninfected worker ants will do the chores the entire day, picking up food, carrying it around or grooming the young. The infected ants, in contrast, barely leave the nest, the Science Alert report said.

In the research, a team led by Professor Susanne Foitzik of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) said when the tapeworm sets up shop in the gut of the ant, it pumps in antioxidants and other protesting in its bloodstream.

Though the researchers have not fully understood the purpose of the special protein, the team believes it helps infected ants stay young and yummy.

The tapeworm was discovered inside the ants in 2021, but further analysis revealed this interesting development.

The team in Germany plans to continue studying the parasite's proteins to better understand how they might influence ant behaviour, appearance, and longevity.