Scientists say small changes in one protein could turn an ant from a worker into a queen, Science alert reports. Scientists came to their conclusions thanks to observations of Indian jumping ants.

Usually ants are born in a certain class of their colony, performing certain roles, and cannot move to another. But the Indian jumping ants are different.. When the queen dies, the workers duel to determine who will take her place.. The victorious ant no longer searches for food, but commands others and lays eggs, essentially playing the role of a queen.

In previous studies, scientists have found that this transition is accompanied by changes in the ant's brain, including the expression of other genes, different hormone levels, and different cellular compositions.. These ants live much longer than ordinary workers..

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Ants are able to create protective nets in dangerous sections of the path.

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But the question of what launches such processes remained open.. To find out, scientists conducted a series of experiments on Indian jumping ants, whose neurons were exposed to different levels of hormones..

Researchers focused on juvenile hormone III (JH3) and ecdysteroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). Both are believed to regulate the social behavior of ants and even some other social insects such as bees.. It turned out that the introduction of JH3 blocked the hunting instinct of ants, and 20E stimulated the activity of the ovaries..

Further laboratory observations showed that both hormones affect ant neurons, activating a protein known as Kruppel homologue 1 (Kr-h1). In this case, protein is a switch, and hormones are fingers that press on it and affect the state of the brain..

At hormone levels seen in worker ants, Kr-h1 suppressed genes that allowed them to become queens. In the case of ants that turned into queens, Kr-h1 suppressed the gene pathways characteristic of workers.

After the protein was completely removed from the ant neurons, workers began to behave like queens and queens like workers.. However, the researchers admit that further experiments are needed to confirm their discovery..

In addition, scientists want to see if Kr-h1 plays the same role in other social animals.. The main conclusion of their research is that different behaviors are recorded in the ant genome, and genomic regulation can determine which behavior will ultimately be dominant..

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Previously, scientists stated that the Saharan silver ant can cover a distance of almost a meter per second, that is, 100 times the length of its body..