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Justino AR, Hartfelder K. A versatile recording device for the analysis of continuous daily external activity in colonies of highly eusocial bees. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2024:10.1007/s00359-024-01709-2. [PMID: 38898188 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-024-01709-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
As pollinators, bees are key to maintaining the biodiversity of angiosperm plants, and for agriculture they provide a billion-dollar ecosystem service. But they also compete for resources (primarily nectar and pollen), especially the highly social bees that live in perennial colonies. So, how do they organize their daily temporal activities? Here, we present a versatile, low-cost device for the continuous, automatic recording and data analysis of the locomotor activity in the colony-entrance tube of highly eusocial bees. Consisting of an in-house built block containing an infrared detector, the passage of bees in the colony entrance tunnel is registered and automatically recorded in an Arduino environment, together with concomitant recordings of temperature and relative humidity. With a focus on the highly diverse Neotropical stingless bees (Meliponini), we obtained 10-day consecutive recordings for two colonies each of the species Melipona quadrifasciata and Frieseomelitta varia, and also for the honey bee. The Lomb-Scargle periodogram analysis identified a predominant circadian rhythmicity for all three species, but also indications of ultradian rhythms. For M. quadrifasciata, which is comparable in size to the honey bee, we found evidence for a possibly anticipatory activity already before sunrise. As all three species also presented activity at night in the colony entrance tube, this also raises questions about sleep organization in social insects. The cost and versatility of the device and the open-source options for data analysis make this an attractive system for conducting studies on circadian rhythms in social bees under natural conditions, complementing studies on flower visits by these important pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Roque Justino
- Departamento de Biologia Celular, Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto - USP, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, SP, Brazil
| | - Klaus Hartfelder
- Departamento de Biologia Celular, Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto - USP, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, SP, Brazil.
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
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Wang Y, Fan H, Zou Y, Song W, Li L, Xie J, Chen S. Expression of early growth responsive gene-1 in the lateral geniculate body of kittens with amblyopia caused by monocular form deprivation. Eur J Ophthalmol 2024; 34:408-418. [PMID: 37437134 DOI: 10.1177/11206721231187926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The expression of early growth responsive gene-1 (Egr-1) in the lateral geniculate body in the normal kittens and those affected with amblyopia caused by monocular visual deprivation was compared to explore the potential significance of Egr-1 in the pathogenesis of amblyopia. METHODS A total of 30 healthy kittens were equally and randomly divided into the control (n = 15) and the deprivation group (n = 15). The kittens were raised in natural light and the right eyes of the deprived kittens were covered with a black opaque covering. Pattern visual evoked potential (PVEP) was measured before and 1, 3, and 5 weeks after covering. Five kittens from each group were randomly selected and euthanized with 2% sodium pentobarbital (100 mg/kg) during the 1st, 3rd and 5th week after covering. The expression of Egr-1 in the lateral geniculate body in the two groups was compared by performing immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. RESULTS After three weeks of covering, PVEP detection indicated that the P100 wave latency in the deprivation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05), whereas the amplitude decreased markedly (P < 0.05). The number of the positive cells (P < 0.05) and mean optical density (P < 0.05) of Egr-1 protein expression in the lateral geniculate body of the deprivation group were found to be substantially lower in comparison to the normal group, as well as the number (P < 0.05) and mean optical density of Egr-1 mRNA-positive cells (P < 0.05). However, with increase of age, positive expression of Egr-1 in the control group showed an upward trend (P < 0.05), but this trend was not noted in the deprivation group (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Monocular form deprivation can lead to substantially decreased expressions of Egr-1 protein and mRNA in the lateral geniculate body, which in turn can affect the normal expression of neuronal functions in the lateral geniculate body, thereby promoting the occurrence and development of amblyopia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Wang
- Department of Optometry, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
- Department of Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Haobo Fan
- Department of Optometry, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
- Department of Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
- Department of Optometry and Pediatric Ophthalmology, Ineye Hospital of Chengdu University of TCM, Chengdu, China
| | - Yunchun Zou
- Department of Optometry, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
- Department of Ophthalmology, the Second Clinical College of North Sichuan Medical College (Nanchong Central Hospital), Nanchong, China
| | - Weiqi Song
- Department of Optometry, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
- Department of Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Lan Li
- Langzhong People's Hospital, Langzhong, Sichuan, China
| | - Juan Xie
- Department of Optometry, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
- Department of Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Siyu Chen
- Department of Optometry, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
- Department of Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
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Bresnahan ST, Galbraith D, Ma R, Anton K, Rangel J, Grozinger CM. Beyond conflict: Kinship theory of intragenomic conflict predicts individual variation in altruistic behaviour. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:5823-5837. [PMID: 37746895 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Behavioural variation is essential for animals to adapt to different social and environmental conditions. The Kinship Theory of Intragenomic Conflict (KTIC) predicts that parent-specific alleles can support different behavioural strategies to maximize allele fitness. Previous studies, including in honey bees (Apis mellifera), supported predictions of the KTIC for parent-specific alleles to promote selfish behaviour. Here, we test the KTIC prediction that for altruism-promoting genes (i.e. those that promote behaviours that support the reproductive fitness of kin), the allele with the higher altruism optimum should be selected to be expressed while the other is silenced. In honey bee colonies, workers act altruistically when tending to the queen by performing a 'retinue' behaviour, distributing the queen's mandibular pheromone (QMP) throughout the hive. Workers exposed to QMP do not activate their ovaries, ensuring they care for the queen's brood instead of competing to lay unfertilized eggs. Due to the haplodiploid genetics of honey bees, the KTIC predicts that response to QMP is favoured by the maternal genome. We report evidence for parent-of-origin effects on the retinue response behaviour, ovarian development and gene expression in brains of worker honey bees exposed to QMP, consistent with the KTIC. Additionally, we show enrichment for genes with parent-of-origin expression bias within gene regulatory networks associated with variation in bees' response to QMP. Our study demonstrates that intragenomic conflict can shape diverse social behaviours and influence expression patterns of single genes as well as gene networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean T Bresnahan
- Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
- Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David Galbraith
- Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Rong Ma
- Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kate Anton
- Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Juliana Rangel
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Christina M Grozinger
- Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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4
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Ai H, Farina WM. In search of behavioral and brain processes involved in honey bee dance communication. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1140657. [PMID: 37456809 PMCID: PMC10342208 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1140657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Honey bees represent an iconic model animal for studying the underlying mechanisms affecting advanced sensory and cognitive abilities during communication among colony mates. After von Frisch discovered the functional value of the waggle dance, this complex motor pattern led ethologists and neuroscientists to study its neural mechanism, behavioral significance, and implications for a collective organization. Recent studies have revealed some of the mechanisms involved in this symbolic form of communication by using conventional behavioral and pharmacological assays, neurobiological studies, comprehensive molecular and connectome analyses, and computational models. This review summarizes several critical behavioral and brain processes and mechanisms involved in waggle dance communication. We focus on the role of neuromodulators in the dancer and the recruited follower, the interneurons and their related processing in the first mechano-processing, and the computational navigation centers of insect brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroyuki Ai
- Department of Earth System Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Walter M. Farina
- Laboratorio de Insectos Sociales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias, CONICET-UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Lafon G, Geng H, Avarguès-Weber A, Buatois A, Massou I, Giurfa M. The Neural Signature of Visual Learning Under Restrictive Virtual-Reality Conditions. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:846076. [PMID: 35250505 PMCID: PMC8888666 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.846076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Honey bees are reputed for their remarkable visual learning and navigation capabilities. These capacities can be studied in virtual reality (VR) environments, which allow studying performances of tethered animals in stationary flight or walk under full control of the sensory environment. Here, we used a 2D VR setup in which a tethered bee walking stationary under restrictive closed-loop conditions learned to discriminate vertical rectangles differing in color and reinforcing outcome. Closed-loop conditions restricted stimulus control to lateral displacements. Consistently with prior VR analyses, bees learned to discriminate the trained stimuli. Ex vivo analyses on the brains of learners and non-learners showed that successful learning led to a downregulation of three immediate early genes in the main regions of the visual circuit, the optic lobes (OLs) and the calyces of the mushroom bodies (MBs). While Egr1 was downregulated in the OLs, Hr38 and kakusei were coincidently downregulated in the calyces of the MBs. Our work thus reveals that color discrimination learning induced a neural signature distributed along the sequential pathway of color processing that is consistent with an inhibitory trace. This trace may relate to the motor patterns required to solve the discrimination task, which are different from those underlying pathfinding in 3D VR scenarios allowing for navigation and exploratory learning and which lead to IEG upregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory Lafon
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Haiyang Geng
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Aurore Avarguès-Weber
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Alexis Buatois
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Isabelle Massou
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
- College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
- *Correspondence: Martin Giurfa,
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Visual learning in a virtual reality environment upregulates immediate early gene expression in the mushroom bodies of honey bees. Commun Biol 2022; 5:130. [PMID: 35165405 PMCID: PMC8844430 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03075-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Free-flying bees learn efficiently to solve numerous visual tasks. Yet, the neural underpinnings of this capacity remain unexplored. We used a 3D virtual reality (VR) environment to study visual learning and determine if it leads to changes in immediate early gene (IEG) expression in specific areas of the bee brain. We focused on kakusei, Hr38 and Egr1, three IEGs that have been related to bee foraging and orientation, and compared their relative expression in the calyces of the mushroom bodies, the optic lobes and the rest of the brain after color discrimination learning. Bees learned to discriminate virtual stimuli displaying different colors and retained the information learned. Successful learners exhibited Egr1 upregulation only in the calyces of the mushroom bodies, thus uncovering a privileged involvement of these brain regions in associative color learning and the usefulness of Egr1 as a marker of neural activity induced by this phenomenon.
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Singh AS, Takhellambam MC. A Method to Study Honey Bee Foraging Regulatory Molecules at Different Times During Foraging. FRONTIERS IN INSECT SCIENCE 2021; 1:723297. [PMID: 38468890 PMCID: PMC10926524 DOI: 10.3389/finsc.2021.723297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
The foraging of honey bees is one of the most well-organized and admirable behaviors that exist among social insects. In behavioral studies, these beautiful insects have been extensively used for understanding time-space learning, landmark use, and the concept of learning. Highly organized behaviors such as social interaction and communication are systematically well-organized behavioral components of honey bee foraging. Over the last two decades, understanding the regulatory mechanisms underlying honey bee foraging at the cellular and molecular levels has been increasingly interested to several researchers. Upon the search of regulatory genes of brain and behavior, immediate early (IE) genes are considered as a good tool to begin the search investigation. Our two recent studies have demonstrated three IE genes, namely, Egr-1, Hr38, and Kakusei, playing a role in the daily foraging of bees and their association with learning and memory during foraging. These studies further evidence that IE genes can be used as a tool in finding the specific molecular/cellular players of foraging in honey bees and its behavioral components such as learning, memory, social interaction, and social communication. In this article, we provide the details of the method of sample collection at different times during foraging to investigate the foraging regulatory molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asem Surindro Singh
- Department of Neuroscience, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Bangalore, India
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8
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Chatterjee A, Bais D, Brockmann A, Ramesh D. Search Behavior of Individual Foragers Involves Neurotransmitter Systems Characteristic for Social Scouting. FRONTIERS IN INSECT SCIENCE 2021; 1:664978. [PMID: 38468879 PMCID: PMC10926421 DOI: 10.3389/finsc.2021.664978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
In honey bees search behavior occurs as social and solitary behavior. In the context of foraging, searching for food sources is performed by behavioral specialized foragers, the scouts. When the scouts have found a new food source, they recruit other foragers (recruits). These recruits never search for a new food source on their own. However, when the food source is experimentally removed, they start searching for that food source. Our study provides a detailed description of this solitary search behavior and the variation of this behavior among individual foragers. Furthermore, mass spectrometric measurement showed that the initiation and performance of this solitary search behavior is associated with changes in glutamate, GABA, histamine, aspartate, and the catecholaminergic system in the optic lobes and central brain area. These findings strikingly correspond with the results of an earlier study that showed that scouts and recruits differ in the expression of glutamate and GABA receptors. Together, the results of both studies provide first clear support for the hypothesis that behavioral specialization in honey bees is based on adjusting modulatory systems involved in solitary behavior to increase the probability or frequency of that behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arumoy Chatterjee
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India
- School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Thanjavur, India
| | - Deepika Bais
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India
| | - Axel Brockmann
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India
| | - Divya Ramesh
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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9
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Sociality sculpts similar patterns of molecular evolution in two independently evolved lineages of eusocial bees. Commun Biol 2021; 4:253. [PMID: 33637860 PMCID: PMC7977082 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01770-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
While it is well known that the genome can affect social behavior, recent models posit that social lifestyles can, in turn, influence genome evolution. Here, we perform the most phylogenetically comprehensive comparative analysis of 16 bee genomes to date: incorporating two published and four new carpenter bee genomes (Apidae: Xylocopinae) for a first-ever genomic comparison with a monophyletic clade containing solitary through advanced eusocial taxa. We find that eusocial lineages have undergone more gene family expansions, feature more signatures of positive selection, and have higher counts of taxonomically restricted genes than solitary and weakly social lineages. Transcriptomic data reveal that caste-affiliated genes are deeply-conserved; gene regulatory and functional elements are more closely tied to social phenotype than phylogenetic lineage; and regulatory complexity increases steadily with social complexity. Overall, our study provides robust empirical evidence that social evolution can act as a major and surprisingly consistent driver of macroevolutionary genomic change.
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10
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Iino S, Shiota Y, Nishimura M, Asada S, Ono M, Kubo T. Neural activity mapping of bumble bee (Bombus ignitus) brains during foraging flight using immediate early genes. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7887. [PMID: 32398802 PMCID: PMC7217898 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64701-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Honey bees and bumble bees belong to the same family (Apidae) and their workers exhibit a division of labor, but the style of division of labor differs between species. The molecular and neural bases of the species-specific social behaviors of Apidae workers have not been analyzed. Here, we focused on two immediate early genes, hormone receptor 38 (HR38) and early growth response gene-1 (Egr1), and late-upregulated ecdysone receptor (EcR), all of which are upregulated by foraging flight and expressed preferentially in the small-type Kenyon cells of the mushroom bodies (MBs) in the honey bee brain. Gene expression analyses in Bombus ignitus revealed that HR38 and Egr1, but not EcR, exhibited an immediate early response during awakening from CO2 anesthesia. Both premature mRNA for HR38 and mature mRNA for Egr1 were induced during foraging flight, and mRNAs for HR38 and Egr1 were sparsely detected inside the whole MB calyces. In contrast, EcR expression was higher in forager brains than in nurse bees and was expressed preferentially in the small-type Kenyon cells inside the MBs. Our findings suggest that Kenyon cells are active during foraging flight and that the function of late-upregulated EcR in the brain is conserved among these Apidae species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiori Iino
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Yurika Shiota
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Masakazu Nishimura
- Laboratory of Entomology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tamagawa University, Machida-Shi, Tokyo, 194-8610, Japan
| | - Shinichi Asada
- Bioresource Sciences Major, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tamagawa University, Machida-Shi, Tokyo, 194-8610, Japan
| | - Masato Ono
- Laboratory of Entomology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tamagawa University, Machida-Shi, Tokyo, 194-8610, Japan
| | - Takeo Kubo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
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Singh AS, Takhellambam MC, Cappelletti P, Feligioni M. Immediate early gene kakusei potentially plays a role in the daily foraging of honey bees. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0222256. [PMID: 32374761 PMCID: PMC7202604 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2019] [Accepted: 03/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
kakusei is a non-coding RNA that is overexpressed in foraging bee brain. This study describes a possible role of the IEG kakusei during the daily foraging of honey bees. kakusei was found to be transiently upregulated within two hours during rewarded foraging. Interestingly, during unrewarded foraging the gene was also found to be up-regulated, but immediately lowered when food was not rewarded. Moreover, the kakusei overexpression was diminished within a very short time when the time schedule of feeding was changed. This indicates the potential role of kakusei on the motivation of learned reward foraging. These results provide evidence for a dynamic role of kakusei during for aging of bees, and eventually its possible involvement in learning and memory. Thus the kakusei gene could be used as search tool in finding distinct molecular pathways that mediate diverse behavioral components of foraging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asem Surindro Singh
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India
- Department of Pathology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Pamela Cappelletti
- Laboratory of Neurobiology in Translational Medicine, Department of Neurorehabilitation Sciences, Casa Cura Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Feligioni
- Laboratory of Neurobiology in Translational Medicine, Department of Neurorehabilitation Sciences, Casa Cura Policlinico, Milan, Italy
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Sommerlandt FMJ, Brockmann A, Rössler W, Spaethe J. Immediate early genes in social insects: a tool to identify brain regions involved in complex behaviors and molecular processes underlying neuroplasticity. Cell Mol Life Sci 2019; 76:637-651. [PMID: 30349993 PMCID: PMC6514070 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-018-2948-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Revised: 09/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Social insects show complex behaviors and master cognitive tasks. The underlying neuronal mechanisms, however, are in most cases only poorly understood due to challenges in monitoring brain activity in freely moving animals. Immediate early genes (IEGs) that get rapidly and transiently expressed following neuronal stimulation provide a powerful tool for detecting behavior-related neuronal activity in vertebrates. In social insects, like honey bees, and in insects in general, this approach is not yet routinely established, even though these genes are highly conserved. First studies revealed a vast potential of using IEGs as neuronal activity markers to analyze the localization, function, and plasticity of neuronal circuits underlying complex social behaviors. We summarize the current knowledge on IEGs in social insects and provide ideas for future research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank M J Sommerlandt
- Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany.
| | - Axel Brockmann
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bellary Road, Bangalore, 560065, India
| | - Wolfgang Rössler
- Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Johannes Spaethe
- Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
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13
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Van Nest BN, Otto MW, Moore D. High experience levels delay recruitment but promote simultaneous time-memories in honey bee foragers. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.187336. [PMID: 30337357 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.187336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Honey bee (Apis mellifera) foragers can remember both the location and time of day food is collected and, even in the absence of a reward, reconnoiter the food source at the appropriate time on subsequent days. This spatiotemporal memory (time-memory) is linked to the circadian clock and enables foragers to synchronize their behavior with floral nectar secretion rhythms, thus eliminating the need to rediscover productive food sources each day. Here, we asked whether the establishment of one time-memory influences the formation of another time-memory at the same time of day. In other words, can two time-place memories with the same 'time-stamp' co-exist? We simultaneously trained two groups of foragers from a single hive to two separate feeders at the same restricted time of day. After 5 days of training, one feeder was shut off. The second feeder continued being productive 4 more days. Our results showed that (1) foragers with high experience levels at the first source were significantly more likely than low-experience foragers to maintain fidelity to their original source and resist recruitment to the alternative source, (2) nearly one-third of foragers demonstrated multiple, overlapping time-memories by visiting both feeders at the correct time and (3) significantly more high-experience than low-experience foragers exhibited this multitasking behavior. The ability to maintain and act upon two different, yet contemporaneous, time-memories gives the forager bee a previously unknown level of versatility in attending to multiple food sources. These findings have major implications for understanding the formation and management of circadian spatiotemporal memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byron N Van Nest
- Department of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA
| | - Matthew W Otto
- Department of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA
| | - Darrell Moore
- Department of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA
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