scholarly journals Learning and discrimination of cuticular hydrocarbons in a social insect

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen van Wilgenburg ◽  
Antoine Felden ◽  
Dong-Hwan Choe ◽  
Robert Sulc ◽  
Jun Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chain Length ◽  
Social Insect ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbon ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Olfactory Conditioning ◽  
Argentine Ants ◽  
Nest Mate ◽  
Chemical Signalling ◽  
Branching Patterns

Social insect cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) mixtures are among the most complex chemical cues known and are important in nest-mate, caste and species recognition. Despite our growing knowledge of the nature of these cues, we have very little insight into how social insects actually perceive and discriminate among these chemicals. In this study, we use the newly developed technique of differential olfactory conditioning to pure, custom-designed synthetic colony odours to analyse signal discrimination in Argentine ants, Linepithema humile . Our results show that tri-methyl alkanes are more easily learned than single-methyl or straight-chain alkanes. In addition, we reveal that Argentine ants can discriminate between hydrocarbons with different branching patterns and the same chain length, but not always between hydrocarbons with the same branching patterns but different chain length. Our data thus show that biochemical characteristics influence those compounds that ants can discriminate between, and which thus potentially play a role in chemical signalling and nest-mate recognition.

scholarly journals Location-specific cuticular hydrocarbon signals in a social insect

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1827) ◽  
pp. 20160310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qike Wang ◽  
Jason Q. D. Goodger ◽  
Ian E. Woodrow ◽  
Mark A. Elgar
Keyword(s):  
Social Insect ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbon ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Signal Function ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Specific Identification ◽  
Signal Functions ◽  
Nest Mate ◽  
Chemical Signalling ◽  
Novel Approach

Social insects use cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) to convey different social signals, including colony or nest identity. Despite extensive investigations, the exact source and identity of CHCs that act as nest-specific identification signals remain largely unknown. Perhaps this is because studies that identify CHC signals typically use organic solvents to extract a single sample from the entire animal, thereby analysing a cocktail of chemicals that may serve several signal functions. We took a novel approach by first identifying CHC profiles from different body parts of ants ( Iridomyrmex purpureus ), then used behavioural bioassays to reveal the location of specific social signals. The CHC profiles of both workers and alates varied between different body parts, and workers paid more attention to the antennae of non-nest-mate and the legs of nest-mate workers. Workers responded less aggressively to non-nest-mate workers if the CHCs on the antennae of their opponents were removed with a solvent. These data indicate that CHCs located on the antennae reveal nest-mate identity and, remarkably, that antennae both convey and receive social signals. Our approach and findings could be valuably applied to chemical signalling in other behavioural contexts, and provide insights that were otherwise obscured by including chemicals that either have no signal function or may be used in other contexts.

scholarly journals Speed and accuracy in nest-mate recognition: a hover wasp prioritizes face recognition over colony odour cues to minimize intrusion by outsiders

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1802) ◽  
pp. 20142750 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Baracchi ◽  
I. Petrocelli ◽  
L. Chittka ◽  
G. Ricciardi ◽  
S. Turillazzi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbon ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Social Wasp ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Nest Mate ◽  
Colony Odour ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Chemical Profiles ◽  
Serious Injury

Social insects have evolved sophisticated recognition systems enabling them to accept nest-mates but reject alien conspecifics. In the social wasp, Liostenogaster flavolineata (Stenogastrinae), individuals differ in their cuticular hydrocarbon profiles according to colony membership; each female also possesses a unique (visual) facial pattern. This species represents a unique model to understand how vision and olfaction are integrated and the extent to which wasps prioritize one channel over the other to discriminate aliens and nest-mates. Liostenogaster flavolineata females are able to discriminate between alien and nest-mate females using facial patterns or chemical cues in isolation. However, the two sensory modalities are not equally efficient in the discrimination of ‘friend’ from ‘foe’. Visual cues induce an increased number of erroneous attacks on nest-mates (false alarms), but such attacks are quickly aborted and never result in serious injury. Odour cues, presented in isolation, result in an increased number of misses: erroneous acceptances of outsiders. Interestingly, wasps take the relative efficiencies of the two sensory modalities into account when making rapid decisions about colony membership of an individual: chemical profiles are entirely ignored when the visual and chemical stimuli are presented together. Thus, wasps adopt a strategy to ‘err on the safe side’ by memorizing individual faces to recognize colony members, and disregarding odour cues to minimize the risk of intrusion from colony outsiders.

scholarly journals Is parasite pressure a driver of chemical cue diversity in ants?

2010 ◽  
Vol 278 (1705) ◽  
pp. 496-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Martin ◽  
Heikki Helanterä ◽  
Falko P. Drijfhout
Keyword(s):  
Gene Diversity ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbon ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Striking Difference ◽  
Chemical Cue ◽  
Evolutionary Forces ◽  
Nest Mate ◽  
Formica Fusca ◽  
Neutral Gene ◽  
The Uk

Parasites and pathogens are possibly key evolutionary forces driving recognition systems. However, empirical evidence remains sparse. The ubiquitous pioneering ant Formica fusca is exploited by numerous socially parasitic ant species. We compared the chemical cue diversity, egg and nest mate recognition abilities in two Finnish and two UK populations where parasite pressure is high or absent, respectively. Finnish populations had excellent egg and nest mate discrimination abilities, which were lost in the UK populations. The loss of discrimination behaviour correlates with a loss in key recognition compounds (C 25 -dimethylalkanes). This was not owing to genetic drift or different ecotypes since neutral gene diversity was the same in both countries. Furthermore, it is known that the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of non-host ant species remain stable between Finland and the UK. The most parsimonious explanation for the striking difference in the cue diversity (number of C 25 -dimethylalkanes isomers) between the UK and Finland populations is the large differences in parasite pressure experienced by F. fusca in the two countries. These results have strong parallels with bird (cuckoo) studies and support the hypothesis that parasites are driving recognition cue diversity.

scholarly journals The cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of honey bee workers develop via a socially-modulated innate process

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassondra L Vernier ◽  
Joshua J Krupp ◽  
Katelyn Marcus ◽  
Abraham Hefetz ◽  
Joel D Levine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Social Insect ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbon ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Behavioral Interactions ◽  
Age Dependent ◽  
Chemical Profiles ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Environmentally Sensitive ◽  
Honey Bee Workers

Large social insect colonies exhibit a remarkable ability for recognizing group members via colony-specific cuticular pheromonal signatures. Previous work suggested that in some ant species, colony-specific pheromonal profiles are generated through a mechanism involving the transfer and homogenization of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) across members of the colony. However, how colony-specific chemical profiles are generated in other social insect clades remains mostly unknown. Here we show that in the honey bee (Apis mellifera), the colony-specific CHC profile completes its maturation in foragers via a sequence of stereotypic age-dependent quantitative and qualitative chemical transitions, which are driven by environmentally-sensitive intrinsic biosynthetic pathways. Therefore, the CHC profiles of individual honey bees are not likely produced through homogenization and transfer mechanisms, but instead mature in association with age-dependent division of labor. Furthermore, non-nestmate rejection behaviors seem to be contextually restricted to behavioral interactions between entering foragers and guards at the hive entrance.

scholarly journals A Genomic Reference Panel for Drosophila serrata

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam R. Reddiex ◽  
Scott L. Allen ◽  
Stephen F. Chenoweth
Keyword(s):  
Cuticular Hydrocarbon ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Inbred Lines ◽  
Population Substructure ◽  
Base Pairs ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Technical Errors ◽  
Drosophila Serrata ◽  
D Values ◽  
Population Genetic Analyses

AbstractHere we describe a collection of re-sequenced inbred lines of Drosophila serrata, sampled from a natural population situated deep within the species endemic distribution in Brisbane, Australia. D. serrata is a member of the speciose montium group whose members inhabit much of south east Asia and has been well studied for aspects of climatic adaptation, sexual selection, sexual dimorphism, and mate recognition. We sequenced 110 lines that were inbred via 17-20 generations of full-sib mating at an average coverage of 23.5x with paired-end Illumina reads. 15,228,692 biallelic SNPs passed quality control after being called using the Joint Genotyper for Inbred Lines (JGIL). Inbreeding was highly effective and the average levels of residual heterozygosity (0.86%) were well below theoretical expectations. As expected, linkage disequilibrium decayed rapidly, with r2 dropping below 0.1 within 100 base pairs. With the exception of four closely related pairs of lines which may have been due to technical errors, there was no statistical support for population substructure. Consistent with other endemic populations of other Drosophila species, preliminary population genetic analyses revealed high nucleotide diversity and, on average, negative Tajima’s D values. A preliminary GWAS was performed on a cuticular hydrocarbon trait, 2-MeC28 revealing 4 SNPs passing Bonferroni significance residing in or near genes. One gene Cht9 may be involved in the transport of CHCs from the site of production (oenocytes) to the cuticle. Our panel will facilitate broader population genomic and quantitative genetic studies of this species and serve as an important complement to existing D. melanogaster panels that can be used to test for the conservation of genetic architectures across the Drosophila genus.

scholarly journals Nest-mate recognition template of guard honeybees ( Apis mellifera ) is modified by wax comb transfer

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret J Couvillon ◽  
Jamie P Caple ◽  
Samuel L Endsor ◽  
Martin Kärcher ◽  
Trudy E Russell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Nest Mate ◽  
Colony Odour ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Unidirectional Transfer ◽  
Nest Mate Recognition ◽  
Wax Comb ◽  
Rejection Rates

In recognition, discriminators use sensory information to make decisions. For example, honeybee ( Apis mellifera ) entrance guards discriminate between nest-mates and intruders by comparing their odours with a template of the colony odour. Comb wax plays a major role in honeybee recognition. We measured the rejection rates of nest-mate and non-nest-mate worker bees by entrance guards before and after a unidirectional transfer of wax comb from a ‘comb donor’ hive to a ‘comb receiver’ hive. Our results showed a significant effect that occurred in one direction. Guards in the comb receiver hive became more accepting of non-nest-mates from the comb donor hive (rejection decreased from 70 to 47%); however, guards in the comb donor hive did not become more accepting of bees from the comb receiver hive. These data strongly support the hypothesis that the transfer of wax comb increases the acceptance of non-nest-mates not by changing the odour of the bees, but by changing the template used by guards.

Moth pheromone genetics and evolution

1993 ◽  
Vol 340 (1292) ◽  
pp. 167-177 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sex Pheromones ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Genetic Dissection ◽  
Pheromone Communication ◽  
Mate Finding ◽  
Important Progress

Sex pheromone communication in moths is a well investigated case of mate-finding by chemical signals, but the evolutionary causes of the great complexity and diversity of these signals are still not generally agreed on. In the present paper, I argue that there is no reason to dismiss species recognition as a possible cause of evolutionary change in moth sex pheromones. Admittedly, selection for species recognition cannot explain all of the diversity in sex pheromones and the data supporting this contention are weak, but the alternative causes suggested, invoking mate choice between conspecifics as the mechanism of sexual selection, has so far no empirical support. Finding and analysing genes responsible for m ate choice is important to corroborate any theory of sexual selection and speciation. In this respect genetic dissection of moth pheromone communication has provided important progress. Mendelian genes controlling differences in m ate choice and in the production of mate recognition signals have been found. Polymorphic pheromone systems give the population biologists unique possibilities to study mate choice and selection at the genotype level in nature.

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