Christine Turnbull

TL;DR: It is shown that pollen exposed to ants for brief periods exhibits reduced viability, reduced percent germination, and shorter pollen tubes relative to control pollen, which results in lower seed-set than pollination with untreated pollen.

TL;DR: The scale of the threats to the biosphere and all its lifeforms is in fact so great that it is difficult to grasp for even well-informed experts as mentioned in this paper, and this dire situation places an extraordinary responsibility on scientists to speak out candidly and accurately when engaging with government, business, and the public.

TL;DR: Afin d'interpreter le role inhibiteur des glandes metapleurales sur la germination and the viabilite du pollen, une serie d'experiences est realisee avec les secretions de Myrmecia nigrista and les pollens de Brassica and Acacia.

TL;DR: In this species, experimental and control spores germinated at approximately equal rates, but the secretions significantly reduced subsequent hyphal growth, which is consistent with the hypothesis that the metapleural gland is a source of antibiotic.

TL;DR: It is found that increases in group size and genetic relatedness were strongly correlated with increasing antimicrobial strength, suggesting selection by microbial pathogens was critical to the evolution of sociality and required the production of strong, front-line antimicrobial defences.