Photo/Illutration An ant is mounted with a two-dimensional barcode in the middle of its back for behavioral analysis. (Provided by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology)

Researchers in Japan discovered that ants placed in isolation die younger due to an accumulation of reactive oxygen, a finding that may lead to ways to reduce stress levels in animals and help make them more resistant to loneliness.

“Our findings indicate that even insects have more reactive oxygen through isolation and that the system is common among a range of living creatures,” said Akiko Koto, a researcher of behavioral ecology who was part of the team.

Ants under normal conditions live in colonies.

Koto, a chief researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, formed a team from AIST to look at the behavioral pattern of ants by placing them separately in containers.

With two-dimensional barcodes applied to the back of each ant, the observation results were compared with those for a group of 10 ants that stayed in the same container together.

Most grouped ants returned to their nest within an hour, with only a few remaining outside to keep watch, standard behavior for the species.

Ants living in isolation roamed near walls longer. At times, they headed for their nests but did not stay long, underlining their “abnormal” condition.

On top of that, 50 percent of the ants kept in isolation died within 25 or so days. Nearly 80 percent of their grouped counterparts were still alive 50 days later when the experiment ended.

The team members tried to pinpoint the mechanism behind the abnormality detected in isolated ants and their shorter lifespan.

They also extracted RNA from both categories of ants for genetic analysis 24 hours after the start of the experiment.

The outcome showed that ants in isolation had more genes working to produce reactive oxygen.

Reactive oxygen can be found in the human body as well. Excessive accumulation of the substance is said to cause cell damage that triggers various health problems.

An especially dramatic rise in reactive oxygen in isolated ants was identified in an organ that corresponds to the liver of humans.

Melatonin--a hormone used to eliminate reactive oxygen--was administered to the ants living in isolation, which succeeded in inhibiting their unusual behavior. Their half-fatality period was extended from 25 days to 50 days.

Koto referred to past research that suggested rats separated from their group display a higher amount of reactive oxygen, although the phenomenon’s mechanism is unclear.

“We will try to elucidate how social relationships can impact living creatures’ health conditions by referring to ants as a model,” Koto said.

The team’s findings were published in the scientific journal Nature Communications at (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41140-w).

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