ALTAA is a system for recording, analyzing, and simulating long-term spatiotemporal activity patterns in ant colonies, revealing motion periodicity and spatial attraction behaviors.

Methods in Ecology and Evolution · Mar 6, 2026Peer-reviewedAnimal Behavior & Cognition

High-throughput phenomics of global ant biodiversity

Julian Katzke, Francisco Hita Garcia, Philipp D. Lösel, Fumika Azuma, Tomáš Faragó, Lazzat Aibekova, Alexandre Casadei‐Ferreira, Shubham Gautam, Adrian Richter, Evropi Toulkeridou, Sabine Bremer, Elias Hamann, Jenny Hein, Janes Odar, Chandan Sarkar, , Thomas van de Kamp

Antscan provides 2,193 standardized whole-body 3D synchrotron micro-CT datasets across 792 ant species (212 genera), pairing morphological volumes with automated deep-learning segmentation and genome sequencing projects.

Nature Methods · Mar 1, 2026Peer-reviewedZoology✦ In-depth digest

Altruistic disease signalling in ant colonies

Erika H. Dawson, Michaela Hoenigsberger, Niklas Kampleitner, Anna V. Grasse, Lukas Lindorfer, Jennifer Robb, Farnaz Beikzadeh, Florian Strahodinsky, Hanna Leitner, Harikrishnan Rajendran, Thomas Schmitt, Sylvia Cremer

The paper shows that infected ant pupae emit chemical signals to trigger their own destruction by colony members, with worker pupae doing so due to weaker immunity compared to queen pupae.

Nature Communications · Dec 2, 2025Peer-reviewedAnimal Behavior & Cognition

Frequent horizontal chromosome transfer between asexual fungal insect pathogens

Michael Habig, Anna V. Grasse, Judith Müller, Eva H. Stukenbrock, Hanna Leitner, Sylvia Cremer

This study demonstrates frequent horizontal transfer of accessory chromosomes between strains and species of the fungus Metarhizium robertsii during co-infection, revealing it as a common mechanism for gene exchange in eukaryotic pathogens.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · Mar 5, 2024Peer-reviewedGenomics