scholarly journals Manipulation of colony environment modulates honey bee aggression and brain gene expression

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 802-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. C. Rittschof ◽  
G. E. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Brain Gene Expression

Brain gene expression changes elicited by peripheralvitellogeninknockdown in the honey bee

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 562-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Wheeler ◽  
S. A. Ament ◽  
S. L. Rodriguez-Zas ◽  
G. E. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Brain Gene Expression

scholarly journals Deep evolutionary conservation of autism-related genes

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (36) ◽  
pp. 9653-9658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hagai Y. Shpigler ◽  
Michael C. Saul ◽  
Frida Corona ◽  
Lindsey Block ◽  
Amy Cash Ahmed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Insect Brain ◽  
Social Pathology ◽  
Brain Gene Expression ◽  
Gene Expression Signatures ◽  
High Level ◽  
Sociobiological Theory

E. O. Wilson proposed in Sociobiology that similarities between human and animal societies reflect common mechanistic and evolutionary roots. When introduced in 1975, this controversial hypothesis was beyond science’s ability to test. We used genomic analyses to determine whether superficial behavioral similarities in humans and the highly social honey bee reflect common molecular mechanisms. Here, we report that gene expression signatures for individual bees unresponsive to various salient social stimuli are significantly enriched for autism spectrum disorder-related genes. These signatures occur in the mushroom bodies, a high-level integration center of the insect brain. Furthermore, our finding of enrichment was unique to autism spectrum disorders; brain gene expression signatures from other honey bee behaviors do not show this enrichment, nor do datasets from other human behavioral and health conditions. These results demonstrate deep conservation for genes associated with a human social pathology and individual differences in insect social behavior, thus providing an example of how comparative genomics can be used to test sociobiological theory.

scholarly journals Honey bee (Apis mellifera) larval pheromones regulate gene expression related to foraging task specialization

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Ma ◽  
J Rangel ◽  
CM Grozinger
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Task Specialization ◽  
Brain Gene Expression ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Foraging Task

AbstractBackgroundForaging behavior in honey bees (Apis mellifera) is a complex phenotype which is regulated by physiological state and social signals. How these factors are integrated at the molecular level to modulate foraging behavior has not been well-characterized. The transition of worker bees from nursing to foraging behavior is mediated by large-scale changes in brain gene expression, which are influenced by pheromones produced by the queen and larvae. Larval pheromones can also stimulate foragers to leave the colony to collect pollen, but the mechanisms underpinning this rapid behavioral plasticity are unknown. Furthermore, the mechanisms through which foragers specialize on collecting nectar or pollen, and how larval pheromones impact these different behavioral states, remains to be determined. Here, we investigated the patterns of gene expression related to rapid behavioral plasticity and task allocation among honey bee foragers exposed to two larval pheromones, brood pheromone (BP) and (E)-beta-ocimene (EBO).ResultsWe hypothesized that both pheromones would alter expression of genes in the brain related to foraging and would differentially impact expression of genes in the brains of pollen compared to nectar foragers. Combining data reduction, clustering, and network analysis methods, we found that foraging preference (nectar vs. pollen) and pheromone exposure are each associated with specific brain gene expression profiles. Furthermore, pheromone exposure has a strong transcriptional effect on genes that are preferentially expressed in nectar foragers. Representation factor analysis between our study and previous landmark honey bee transcriptome studies revealed significant overlaps for both pheromone communication and foraging task specialization.ConclusionsSocial signals (i.e. pheromones) may invoke foraging-related genes to upregulate pollen foraging at both long and short time scales. These results provide new insights into how social signals integrate with task specialization at the molecular level and highlights the important role that brain gene expression plays in behavioral plasticity across time scales.

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