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Barbero F, Mannino G, Casacci LP. The Role of Biogenic Amines in Social Insects: With a Special Focus on Ants. INSECTS 2023; 14:386. [PMID: 37103201 PMCID: PMC10142254 DOI: 10.3390/insects14040386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Eusociality represents the higher degree of interaction in insects. This complex social structure is maintained through a multimodal communication system that allows colony members to be flexible in their responses, fulfilling the overall society's needs. The colony plasticity is supposedly achieved by combining multiple biochemical pathways through the neuromodulation of molecules such as biogenic amines, but the mechanisms through which these regulatory compounds act are far from being fully disentangled. Here, we review the potential function of major bioamines (dopamine, tyramine, serotine, and octopamine) on the behavioral modulation of principal groups of eusocial Hymenoptera, with a special focus on ants. Because functional roles are species- and context-dependent, identifying a direct causal relationship between a biogenic amine variation and behavioral changes is extremely challenging. We also used a quantitative and qualitative synthesis approach to summarize research trends and interests in the literature related to biogenic amines of social insects. Shedding light on the aminergic regulation of behavioral responses will pave the way for an entirely new approach to understanding the evolution of sociality in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Barbero
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Turin, Italy;
| | - Giuseppe Mannino
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Gioacchino Quarello 15/A, 10135 Turin, Italy;
| | - Luca Pietro Casacci
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Turin, Italy;
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2
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Zhu H, Liu Z, Ma H, Zheng W, Liu J, Zhou Y, Man Y, Zhou X, Zeng A. Pharmacological Properties and Function of the PxOctβ3 Octopamine Receptor in Plutella xylostella (L.). INSECTS 2022; 13:735. [PMID: 36005359 PMCID: PMC9409995 DOI: 10.3390/insects13080735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) is one of the most destructive lepidopteran pests of cruciferous vegetables, and insights into regulation of its physiological processes contribute towards the development of new pesticides against it. Thus, we investigated the regulatory functions of its β-adrenergic-like octopamine receptor (PxOctβ3). The open reading frame (ORF) of PxOctβ3 was phylogenetically analyzed, and the levels of expression of the receptor mRNA were determined. This ORF was also cloned and expressed in HEK-293 cells. A series of octopamine receptor agonists and antagonists were tested against PxOctβ3. We showed that the receptor is a member of the Octβ3 protein family, and an analysis using quantitative PCR showed that it was expressed at all developmental stages of P. xylostella. Octopamine activated PxOctβ3, resulting in increased levels of intracellular cAMP. Furthermore, the agonists naphazoline, clonidine, 2-phenethylamine, and amitraz activated the PxOctβ3 receptor, and naphazoline was the most effective. Only metoclopramide and mianserin had significant antagonistic effects on PxOctβ3, whereas yohimbine, phentolamine, and chlorpromazine lacked obvious antagonistic effects. The injection of double-stranded RNA in an RNA interference assay indicated that PxOctβ3 regulates development in P. xylostella. This study demonstrated the pharmacological properties and functions of PxOctβ3 in P. xylostella, thus, providing a theoretical basis for the design of pesticides that target octopamine receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Zhu
- College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
- Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
| | - Zheming Liu
- Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
| | - Haihao Ma
- Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
| | - Wei Zheng
- Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
| | - Jia Liu
- Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
| | - Yong Zhou
- Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
| | - Yilong Man
- Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
| | - Xiaoao Zhou
- Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
| | - Aiping Zeng
- College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
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Mannino G, Abdi G, Maffei ME, Barbero F. Origanum vulgare terpenoids modulate Myrmica scabrinodis brain biogenic amines and ant behaviour. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0209047. [PMID: 30586439 PMCID: PMC6306168 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Coordinated social behaviour is fundamental for ant ecological success. However, even distantly-related organisms, such as plants, have evolved the ability to manipulate ant collective performances to their own advantage. In the parasitic system encompassing Maculinea butterflies, Myrmica ants, and Origanum vulgare plants, the ant-plant interaction elicits the release of a volatile terpenoid compound (carvacrol) which is used by the gravid butterfly to locate the ideal oviposition site. Here we show that this ant-plant association is maintained by the effect of O. vulgare terpenoids on ant behaviour and that food plants might gain protection by Myrmica ants by chemically manipulating workers to forage in their surroundings. The variation in the locomotor ability of three ant species (Formica cinerea, Tetramorium caespitum, and Myrmica scabrinodis) was studied after treatment with the two major O. vulgare terpenoid volatile compounds (i.e., carvacrol and thymol). The brain levels of three biogenic amines (dopamine, tyramine and serotonin) were analysed in ants exposed to the O. vulgare terpenoids by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Carvacrol and thymol increased the locomotor activity of all ant species tested, but if blended reduced the movement propensity of Myrmica scabrinodis. Dopamine and tyramine production was positively correlated with the worker locomotor activity. In Myrmica ants, both brain biogenic ammines were negatively correlated with the aggressive behaviour. Blends of O. vulgare volatiles affected the locomotor ability while increased the aggressiveness of Myrmica workers by altering the aminergic regulation in the ant brains. This behavioural manipulation, might enhance partner fidelity and plant protection. Our findings provide new insights supporting a direct role of plant volatiles in driving behavioural changes in social insects through biogenic amine modulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Mannino
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Innovation Centre, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Gholamreza Abdi
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Innovation Centre, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Massimo Emilio Maffei
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Innovation Centre, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Francesca Barbero
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Innovation Centre, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
- * E-mail:
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Friedman DA, Pilko A, Skowronska-Krawczyk D, Krasinska K, Parker JW, Hirsh J, Gordon DM. The Role of Dopamine in the Collective Regulation of Foraging in Harvester Ants. iScience 2018; 8:283-294. [PMID: 30270022 PMCID: PMC6205345 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2018.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Revised: 08/04/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Colonies of the red harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) differ in how they regulate collective foraging activity in response to changes in humidity. We used transcriptomic, physiological, and pharmacological experiments to investigate the molecular basis of this ecologically important variation in collective behavior among colonies. RNA sequencing of forager brain tissue showed an association between colony foraging activity and differential expression of transcripts related to biogenic amine and neurohormonal metabolism and signaling. In field experiments, pharmacological increases in forager brain dopamine titer caused significant increases in foraging activity. Colonies that were naturally most sensitive to humidity were significantly more responsive to the stimulatory effect of exogenous dopamine. In addition, forager brain tissue significantly varied among colonies in biogenic amine content. Neurophysiological variation among colonies associated with individual forager sensitivity to humidity may reflect the heritable molecular variation on which natural selection acts to shape the collective regulation of foraging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Friedman
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
| | - Anna Pilko
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences (QCB), University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk
- Shiley Eye Institute, Richard C. Atkinson Lab for Regenerative Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Karolina Krasinska
- Stanford University Mass Spectrometry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Jacqueline W Parker
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - Jay Hirsh
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - Deborah M Gordon
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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Felden A, Paris CI, Chapple DG, Haywood J, Suarez AV, Tsutsui ND, Lester PJ, Gruber MAM. Behavioural variation and plasticity along an invasive ant introduction pathway. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1653-1666. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Felden
- Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology; School of Biological Sciences; Victoria University of Wellington; Wellington New Zealand
| | - Carolina I. Paris
- Departamento Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - David G. Chapple
- School of Biological Sciences; Monash University; Clayton Victoria Australia
| | - John Haywood
- School of Mathematics and Statistics; Victoria University of Wellington; Wellington New Zealand
| | - Andrew V. Suarez
- Department of Animal Biology and Department of Entomology; University of Illinois; Urbana Illinois
| | - Neil D. Tsutsui
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management; University of California - Berkeley; Berkeley California
| | - Philip J. Lester
- Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology; School of Biological Sciences; Victoria University of Wellington; Wellington New Zealand
| | - Monica A. M. Gruber
- Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology; School of Biological Sciences; Victoria University of Wellington; Wellington New Zealand
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Qi YX, Zeng T, Wang L, Lu YY. Biogenic amine signaling systems in the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta - Possible contributors to worker division of labor. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2018. [PMID: 29526717 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, is a dangerous invasive pest in the United States, China and other countries. Efficient division of labor is one of the main reasons for the success of this social insect. Biogenic amines are important regulators of worker division of labor in this eusocial insect, but the related molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. In this study, we identified 10 candidate biogenic amine synthetic enzyme genes and 17 candidate biogenic amine receptor genes in the genome of S. invicta. Quantitative real-time PCR results indicated that foragers had higher head transcripts levels of all the tested enzyme genes than nurses did. In the abdomen, only the rate-limiting enzyme genes for the biosynthesis of serotonin and dopamine were higher in foragers than in nurses. Among the tested serotonin receptors, only the expression of 5-HT2A gene showed significant difference between foragers and nurses. In the head, more abundant 5-HT2A transcripts were detected in foragers than in nurses. Foragers expressed higher Octβ4R than nurses in the head and abdomen. However, much lower mRNA levels of Dop3 receptor gene were detected in both body regions of foragers than nurses. Several other octopamine and tyramine receptor genes were also differentially expressed between foragers and nurses in the head and/or in the abdomen. Our results will improve the understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying biogenic amine modulation of the worker division of labor in S. invicta.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Xiang Qi
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Tian Zeng
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lei Wang
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yong-Yue Lu
- Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
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Shimoji H, Aonuma H, Miura T, Tsuji K, Sasaki K, Okada Y. Queen contact and among-worker interactions dually suppress worker brain dopamine as a potential regulator of reproduction in an ant. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2263-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Entler BV, Cannon JT, Seid MA. Morphine addiction in ants: a new model for self-administration and neurochemical analysis. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 219:2865-2869. [PMID: 27655824 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.140616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2016] [Accepted: 07/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Conventional definitions of drug addiction are focused on characterizing the neurophysiological and behavioral responses of mammals. Although mammalian models have been invaluable in studying specific and complex aspects of addiction, invertebrate systems have proven advantageous in investigating how drugs of abuse corrupt the most basic motivational and neurochemical systems. It has recently been shown that invertebrates and mammals have remarkable similarities in their behavioral and neurochemical responses to drugs of abuse. However, until now only mammals have demonstrated drug seeking and self-administration without the concurrent presence of a natural reward, e.g. sucrose. Using a sucrose-fading paradigm, followed by a two-dish choice test, we establish ants as an invertebrate model of opioid addiction. The ant species Camponotus floridanus actively seeks and self-administers morphine even in the absence of caloric value or additional natural reward. Using HPLC equipped with electrochemical detection, the neurochemicals serotonin, octopamine and dopamine were identified and subsequently quantified, establishing the concurrent neurochemical response to the opioid morphine within the invertebrate brain. With this study, we demonstrate dopamine to be governing opioid addiction in the brains of ants. Thus, this study establishes ants as the first non-mammalian model of self-administration that is truly analogous to mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian V Entler
- Biology Department, Neuroscience Program, The University of Scranton, 800 Linden Street, Scranton, PA 18510, USA Chemistry Department, The University of Scranton, 800 Linden Street, Scranton, PA 18510, USA
| | - J Timothy Cannon
- Biology Department, Neuroscience Program, The University of Scranton, 800 Linden Street, Scranton, PA 18510, USA Psychology Department, The University of Scranton, 800 Linden Street, Scranton, PA 18510, USA
| | - Marc A Seid
- Biology Department, Neuroscience Program, The University of Scranton, 800 Linden Street, Scranton, PA 18510, USA
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Giraldo YM, Rusakov A, Diloreto A, Kordek A, Traniello JFA. Age, worksite location, neuromodulators, and task performance in the ant Pheidole dentata. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016; 70:1441-1455. [PMID: 28042198 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2153-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Social insect workers modify task performance according to age-related schedules of behavioral development, and/or changing colony labor requirements based on flexible responses that may be independent of age. Using known-age minor workers of the ant Pheidole dentata throughout 68% of their 140-day laboratory lifespan, we asked whether workers found inside or outside the nest differed in task performance and if behaviors were correlated with and/or causally linked to changes in brain serotonin (5HT) and dopamine (DA). Our results suggest that task performance patterns of individually assayed minors collected at these two spatially different worksites were independent of age. Outside-nest minors displayed significantly higher levels of predatory behavior and greater activity than inside-nest minors, but these groups did not differ in brood care or phototaxis. We examined the relationship of 5HT and DA to these behaviors in known-age minors by quantifying individual brain titers. Both monoamines did not increase significantly from 20 to 95 days of age. DA did not appear to directly regulate worksite location, although titers were significantly higher in outside-nest than inside-nest workers. Pharmacological depletion of 5HT did not affect nursing, predation, phototaxis or activity. Our results suggest that worker task capabilities are independent of age beyond 20 days, and only predatory behavior can be consistently predicted by spatial location. This could reflect worker flexibility or variability in the behavior of individuals collected at each location, which could be influenced by complex interactions between age, worksite location, social interactions, neuromodulators, and other environmental and internal regulators of behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Adina Rusakov
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | | | - Adrianna Kordek
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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Howe J, Schiøtt M, Boomsma JJ. Tachykinin Expression Levels Correlate with Caste-Specific Aggression in Workers of the Leaf-Cutting Ant Acromyrmex echinatior. Front Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2016.00055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Kamhi JF, Nunn K, Robson SKA, Traniello JFA. Polymorphism and division of labour in a socially complex ant: neuromodulation of aggression in the Australian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:rspb.2015.0704. [PMID: 26136448 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Complex social structure in eusocial insects can involve worker morphological and behavioural differentiation. Neuroanatomical variation may underscore worker division of labour, but the regulatory mechanisms of size-based task specialization in polymorphic species are unknown. The Australian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina, exhibits worker polyphenism: larger major workers aggressively defend arboreal territories, whereas smaller minors nurse brood.Here, we demonstrate that octopamine (OA) modulates worker size-related aggression in O. smaragdina. We found that the brains of majors had significantly higher titres of OA than those of minors and that OA was positively and specifically correlated with the frequency of aggressive responses to non-nestmates, a key component of territorial defence. Pharmacological manipulations that effectively switched OA action in major and minor worker brains reversed levels of aggression characteristic of each worker size class. Results suggest that altering OA action is sufficient to produce differences in aggression characteristic of size-related social roles. Neuromodulators therefore may generate variation in responsiveness to task-related stimuli associated with worker size differentiation and collateral behavioural specializations, a significant component of division of labour in complex social systems.
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Muscedere ML, Helms Cahan S, Helms KR, Traniello JF. Geographic and life-history variation in ant queen colony founding correlates with brain amine levels. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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13
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de Bekker C, Ohm RA, Loreto RG, Sebastian A, Albert I, Merrow M, Brachmann A, Hughes DP. Gene expression during zombie ant biting behavior reflects the complexity underlying fungal parasitic behavioral manipulation. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:620. [PMID: 26285697 PMCID: PMC4545319 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1812-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2015] [Accepted: 08/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adaptive manipulation of animal behavior by parasites functions to increase parasite transmission through changes in host behavior. These changes can range from slight alterations in existing behaviors of the host to the establishment of wholly novel behaviors. The biting behavior observed in Carpenter ants infected by the specialized fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis s.l. is an example of the latter. Though parasitic manipulation of host behavior is generally assumed to be due to the parasite's gene expression, few studies have set out to test this. RESULTS We experimentally infected Carpenter ants to collect tissue from both parasite and host during the time period when manipulated biting behavior is experienced. Upon observation of synchronized biting, samples were collected and subjected to mixed RNA-Seq analysis. We also sequenced and annotated the O. unilateralis s.l. genome as a reference for the fungal sequencing reads. CONCLUSIONS Our mixed transcriptomics approach, together with a comparative genomics study, shows that the majority of the fungal genes that are up-regulated during manipulated biting behavior are unique to the O. unilateralis s.l. genome. This study furthermore reveals that the fungal parasite might be regulating immune- and neuronal stress responses in the host during manipulated biting, as well as impairing its chemosensory communication and causing apoptosis. Moreover, we found genes up-regulated during manipulation that putatively encode for proteins with reported effects on behavioral outputs, proteins involved in various neuropathologies and proteins involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charissa de Bekker
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Goethestrasse 31, 80336, Munich, Germany.
- Department of Entomology and Department of Biology, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA.
| | - Robin A Ohm
- Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584, CH, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Raquel G Loreto
- Department of Entomology and Department of Biology, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA
- CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasília, 70040-020, DF, Brazil
| | - Aswathy Sebastian
- Bioinformatics Consulting Center, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA
| | - Istvan Albert
- Bioinformatics Consulting Center, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA
| | - Martha Merrow
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Goethestrasse 31, 80336, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Brachmann
- Faculty of Biology, Section Genetics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Grosshaderner Strasse 2-4, 82152, Martinsried, Germany
| | - David P Hughes
- Department of Entomology and Department of Biology, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, PA, USA.
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Abstract
Senescence, the decline in physiological and behavioral function with increasing age, has been the focus of significant theoretical and empirical research in a broad array of animal taxa. Preeminent among invertebrate social models of aging are ants, a diverse and ecologically dominant clade of eusocial insects characterized by reproductive and sterile phenotypes. In this review, we critically examine selection for worker lifespan in ants and discuss the relationship between functional senescence, longevity, task performance, and colony fitness. We did not find strong or consistent support for the hypothesis that demographic senescence in ants is programmed, or its corollary prediction that workers that do not experience extrinsic mortality die at an age approximating their lifespan in nature. We present seven hypotheses concerning how selection could favor extended worker lifespan through its positive relationship to colony size and predict that large colony size, under some conditions, should confer multiple and significant fitness advantages. Fitness benefits derived from long worker lifespan could be mediated by increased resource acquisition, efficient division of labor, accuracy of collective decision-making, enhanced allomaternal care and colony defense, lower infection risk, and decreased energetic costs of workforce maintenance. We suggest future avenues of research to examine the evolution of worker lifespan and its relationship to colony fitness, and conclude that an innovative fusion of sociobiology, senescence theory, and mechanistic studies of aging can improve our understanding of the adaptive nature of worker lifespan in ants.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - James F A Traniello
- Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston MA, 02215
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15
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Kamhi JF, Traniello JF. Biogenic Amines and Collective Organization in a Superorganism: Neuromodulation of Social Behavior in Ants. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2013; 82:220-36. [DOI: 10.1159/000356091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2013] [Accepted: 09/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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