1
|
Oepen AS, Catalano JL, Azanchi R, Kaun KR. The foraging gene affects alcohol sensitivity, metabolism and memory in Drosophila. J Neurogenet 2021; 35:236-248. [PMID: 34092172 PMCID: PMC9215342 DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2021.1931178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The genetic basis of alcohol use disorder (AUD) is complex. Understanding how natural genetic variation contributes to alcohol phenotypes can help us identify and understand the genetic basis of AUD. Recently, a single nucleotide polymorphism in the human foraging (for) gene ortholog, Protein Kinase cGMP-Dependent 1 (PRKG1), was found to be associated with stress-induced risk for alcohol abuse. However, the mechanistic role that PRKG1 plays in AUD is not well understood. We use natural variation in the Drosophila for gene to describe how variation of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) activity modifies ethanol-induced phenotypes. We found that variation in for affects ethanol-induced increases in locomotion and memory of the appetitive properties of ethanol intoxication. Further, these differences may stem from the ability to metabolize ethanol. Together, this data suggests that natural variation in PKG modulates cue reactivity for alcohol, and thus could influence alcohol cravings by differentially modulating metabolic and behavioral sensitivities to alcohol.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne S. Oepen
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence,
RI, USA
- Masters Program in Developmental, Neuronal and Behavioral
Biology, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jamie L. Catalano
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence,
RI, USA
- Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology Graduate Program,
Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Reza Azanchi
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence,
RI, USA
| | - Karla R. Kaun
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence,
RI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Alwash N, Allen AM, B Sokolowski M, Levine JD. The Drosophila melanogaster foraging gene affects social networks. J Neurogenet 2021; 35:249-261. [PMID: 34121597 DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2021.1936517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster displays social behaviors including courtship, mating, aggression, and group foraging. Recent studies employed social network analyses (SNAs) to show that D. melanogaster strains differ in their group behavior, suggesting that genes influence social network phenotypes. Aside from genes associated with sensory function, few studies address the genetic underpinnings of these networks. The foraging gene (for) is a well-established example of a pleiotropic gene that regulates multiple behavioral phenotypes and their plasticity. In D. melanogaster, there are two naturally occurring alleles of for called rover and sitter that differ in their larval and adult food-search behavior as well as other behavioral phenotypes. Here, we hypothesize that for affects behavioral elements required to form social networks and the social networks themselves. These effects are evident when we manipulate gene dosage. We found that flies of the rover and sitter strains exhibit differences in duration, frequency, and reciprocity of pairwise interactions, and they form social networks with differences in assortativity and global efficiency. Consistent with other adult phenotypes influenced by for, rover-sitter heterozygotes show intermediate patterns of dominance in many of these characteristics. Multiple generations of backcrossing a rover allele into a sitter strain showed that many but not all of these rover-sitter differences may be attributed to allelic variation at for. Our findings reveal the significant role that for plays in affecting social network properties and their behavioral elements in Drosophila melanogaster.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nawar Alwash
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada.,Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Aaron M Allen
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Centre for Neural Circuits and Behavior, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Marla B Sokolowski
- Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), MaRS Centre, Toronto, Canada
| | - Joel D Levine
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada.,Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), MaRS Centre, Toronto, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Merchant A, Song D, Yang X, Li X, Zhou X“J. Candidate
foraging
gene orthologs in a lower termite,
Reticulitermes flavipes. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2020; 334:168-177. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2019] [Revised: 08/24/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Austin Merchant
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of KentuckyLexington Kentucky
| | - Dongyan Song
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of KentuckyLexington Kentucky
| | - Xiaowei Yang
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of KentuckyLexington Kentucky
| | - Xiangrui Li
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of KentuckyLexington Kentucky
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant ProtectionChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing China
| | - Xuguo “Joe” Zhou
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of KentuckyLexington Kentucky
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Princen SA, Van Oystaeyen A, Petit C, van Zweden JS, Wenseleers T. Cross-activity of honeybee queen mandibular pheromone in bumblebees provides evidence for sensory exploitation. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractThe evolutionary origin of queen pheromones (QPs), which regulate reproductive division of labor in insect societies, has been explained by two evolutionary scenarios: the sender-precursor hypothesis and the sensory exploitation hypothesis. These scenarios differ in terms of whether the signaling system was built on preadaptations on the part of either the sender queens or the receiver workers. While some social insect QPs—such as cuticular hydrocarbons—were likely derived from ancestral fertility cues and evolved according to the former theory, the honeybee’s queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) has been suggested to act directly on preexisting gene-regulatory networks linked with reproduction. This is evidenced by the fact that QMP has been shown to also inhibit ovary activation in fruit flies, thereby implying exploitation of conserved physiological pathways. To verify whether QMP has similar effects on more closely related eusocial species, we here tested for QMP cross-activity in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. Interestingly, we found that the non-native QMP blend significantly inhibited egg laying in both worker and queen bumblebees and caused accompanying shifts in ovary activation. The native bumblebee QP pentacosane, by contrast, only inhibited the reproduction of the workers. Overall, these findings support the hypothesis that honeybee QMP likely evolved via a route of sensory exploitation. We argue that such exploitation could allow social insect queens to produce compounds that manipulate the workers to remain sterile, but that a major hurdle would be that the queens themselves would have to be immune to such compounds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Princen
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Naamsestraat, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Annette Van Oystaeyen
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Naamsestraat, Leuven, Belgium
- Biobest Group NV, Westerlo, Belgium
| | - Clément Petit
- Biobest Group NV, Westerlo, Belgium
- Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, France
| | - Jelle S van Zweden
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Naamsestraat, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tom Wenseleers
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, Naamsestraat, Leuven, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
The Drosophila melanogaster foraging (for) gene is a well-established example of a gene with major effects on behavior and natural variation. This gene is best known for underlying the behavioral strategies of rover and sitter foraging larvae, having been mapped and named for this phenotype. Nevertheless, in the last three decades an extensive array of studies describing for's role as a modifier of behavior in a wide range of phenotypes, in both Drosophila and other organisms, has emerged. Furthermore, recent work reveals new insights into the genetic and molecular underpinnings of how for affects these phenotypes. In this article, we discuss the history of the for gene and its role in natural variation in behavior, plasticity, and behavioral pleiotropy, with special attention to recent findings on the molecular structure and transcriptional regulation of this gene.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ina Anreiter
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada;
| | - Marla B Sokolowski
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada;
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Galang KC, Croft JR, Thompson GJ, Percival-Smith A. Analysis of the Drosophila melanogaster anti-ovarian response to honey bee queen mandibular pheromone. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2019; 28:99-111. [PMID: 30159981 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) is a potent reproductive signal to which honey bee workers respond by suppressing their ovaries and adopting alloparental roles within the colony. This anti-ovarian effect of QMP on workers can, surprisingly, be induced in other insects, including fruit flies, in which females exposed to synthetic QMP develop smaller ovaries with fewer eggs. In this study, we use the Drosophila melanogaster model to identify the components of synthetic QMP required for the anti-ovarian effect. We found that virgin females respond strongly to 9-oxo-2-decenoic acid and 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10HDA), suggesting that the decenoic acid components of QMP are essential for the anti-ovarian response. Further, a nuclear factor of activated T-cells reporter system revealed neurones expressing the olfactory receptors Or-56a, Or-49b and Or-98a are activated by QMP in the antenna. In addition, we used olfactory receptor GAL4 drivers and a neuronal activator (a neuronal activating bacterial sodium channel) to test whether the candidate neurones are potential labelled lines for a decenoic acid response. We identified Or-49b as a potential candidate receiver of the 10HDA signal. Finally, the anti-ovarian response to synthetic QMP is not mediated by decreasing the titre of the reproductive hormones ecdysone and juvenile hormone.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K C Galang
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - J R Croft
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - G J Thompson
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - A Percival-Smith
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Affiliation(s)
- Luke Holman
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Daisley BA, Trinder M, McDowell TW, Welle H, Dube JS, Ali SN, Leong HS, Sumarah MW, Reid G. Neonicotinoid-induced pathogen susceptibility is mitigated by Lactobacillus plantarum immune stimulation in a Drosophila melanogaster model. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2703. [PMID: 28578396 PMCID: PMC5457429 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02806-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2016] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Pesticides are used extensively in food production to maximize crop yields. However, neonicotinoid insecticides exert unintentional toxicity to honey bees (Apis mellifera) that may partially be associated with massive population declines referred to as colony collapse disorder. We hypothesized that imidacloprid (common neonicotinoid; IMI) exposure would make Drosophila melanogaster (an insect model for the honey bee) more susceptible to bacterial pathogens, heat stress, and intestinal dysbiosis. Our results suggested that the immune deficiency (Imd) pathway is necessary for D. melanogaster survival in response to IMI toxicity. IMI exposure induced alterations in the host-microbiota as noted by increased indigenous Acetobacter and Lactobacillus spp. Furthermore, sub-lethal exposure to IMI resulted in decreased D. melanogaster survival when simultaneously exposed to bacterial infection and heat stress (37 °C). This coincided with exacerbated increases in TotA and Dpt (Imd downstream pro-survival and antimicrobial genes, respectively) expression compared to controls. Supplementation of IMI-exposed D. melanogaster with Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 14917 mitigated survival deficits following Serratia marcescens (bacterial pathogen) septic infection. These findings support the insidious toxicity of neonicotinoid pesticides and potential for probiotic lactobacilli to reduce IMI-induced susceptibility to infection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brendan A Daisley
- Canadian R&D Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotic Research, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, N6A 4V2, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Mark Trinder
- Canadian R&D Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotic Research, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, N6A 4V2, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Tim W McDowell
- London Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, N5V 3V3, Canada
| | - Hylke Welle
- Canadian R&D Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotic Research, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, N6A 4V2, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 5C1, Canada.,Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculty Earth and Life Sciences, Institute of Molecular Cell Biology, Amsterdam, 1081, Netherlands
| | - Josh S Dube
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Sohrab N Ali
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 5C1, Canada.,Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, K1Y 4E9, Canada
| | - Hon S Leong
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 5C1, Canada.,Department of Surgery, The University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 4V2, Canada
| | - Mark W Sumarah
- London Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, N5V 3V3, Canada
| | - Gregor Reid
- Canadian R&D Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotic Research, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, N6A 4V2, Ontario, Canada. .,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 5C1, Canada. .,Department of Surgery, The University of Western Ontario, London, N6A 4V2, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Croft JR, Liu T, Camiletti AL, Simon AF, Thompson GJ. Sexual response of male Drosophila to honey bee queen mandibular pheromone: implications for genetic studies of social insects. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 203:143-149. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1147-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2016] [Revised: 12/31/2016] [Accepted: 01/09/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
|
10
|
Camiletti AL, Percival-Smith A, Croft JR, Thompson GJ. A novel screen for genes associated with pheromone-induced sterility. Sci Rep 2016; 6:36041. [PMID: 27786267 PMCID: PMC5081541 DOI: 10.1038/srep36041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2016] [Accepted: 10/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
For honey bee and other social insect colonies the ‘queen substance’ regulates colony reproduction rendering workers functionally sterile. The evolution of worker reproductive altruism is explained by inclusive fitness theory, but little is known of the genes involved or how they regulate the phenotypic expression of altruism. We previously showed that application of honeybee queen pheromone to virgin fruit flies suppresses fecundity. Here we exploit this finding to identify genes associated with the perception of an ovary-inhibiting social pheromone. Mutational and RNAi approaches in Drosophila reveal that the olfactory co-factor Orco together with receptors Or49b, Or56a and Or98a are potentially involved in the perception of queen pheromone and the suppression of fecundity. One of these, Or98a, is known to mediate female fly mating behaviour, and its predicted ligand is structurally similar to a methyl component of the queen pheromone. Our novel approach to finding genes associated with pheromone-induced sterility implies conserved reproductive regulation between social and pre-social orders, and further helps to identify candidate orthologues from the pheromone-responsive pathway that may regulate honeybee worker sterility.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alison L Camiletti
- Biology Department, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Anthony Percival-Smith
- Biology Department, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Justin R Croft
- Biology Department, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7 Canada
| | - Graham J Thompson
- Biology Department, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7 Canada.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, UNIL-Sorge, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Ronai I, Oldroyd BP, Vergoz V. Queen pheromone regulates programmed cell death in the honey bee worker ovary. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 25:646-652. [PMID: 27321063 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
In social insect colonies the presence of a queen, secreting her pheromones, is a key environmental cue for regulating the reproductive state of workers. However, until recently the proximate molecular mechanisms underlying facultative worker sterility were unidentified. Studies into worker oogenesis in the honey bee (Apis mellifera) have indicated that programmed cell death is central to the regulation of oogenesis. Here we investigate how queen pheromone, age of the worker and ovary state affect both programmed cell death and cell number in worker ovaries. We describe a novel method to simultaneously measure programmed cell death (caspase activity) and live cell number (estimated from the amount of adenosine triphosphate) in an insect tissue. Workers exposed to queen pheromone have higher levels of caspase activity in the ovary than those not exposed. Our results suggest that queen pheromone triggers programmed cell death at the mid-oogenesis checkpoint causing the abortion of worker oocytes and reproductive inhibition of the worker caste. Nonetheless, high caspase activity is present in activated ovaries from workers not exposed to queen pheromone. This caspase activity is most likely to be from the nurse cells undergoing programmed cell death, in late oogenesis, for normal oocyte development. Our study shows that the social environment of an organism can influence programmed cell death within a tissue.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- I Ronai
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - B P Oldroyd
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - V Vergoz
- Behaviour and Genetics of Social Insects Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Camiletti AL, Thompson GJ. Drosophila As a Genetically Tractable Model for Social Insect Behavior. Front Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2016.00040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
13
|
Ronai I, Vergoz V, Oldroyd B. The Mechanistic, Genetic, and Evolutionary Basis of Worker Sterility in the Social Hymenoptera. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.asb.2016.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
|