Neuropeptide Y-like signalling and nutritionally mediated gene expression and behaviour in the honey bee

Ament, Seth A.; Velarde, Rodrigo; Kolodkin, M. H.; Moyse, Dominique; Robinson, Gene E.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2583.2011.01068.x

Cited by 68 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Rather, given the ecology of N. vespilloides, it is more likely that increased npf is associated with preparation for another bout of reproduction. In other insects npf is associated with an increased motivation to seek a new reproductive resource or mating opportunities [8,30]. It also acts as a signal to reinitiate full reproductive capabilities [27,28], such as yolking up new eggs, or increased motivation to leave a social group [25,31].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Feeding pathways have altered gene expression in parenting insects, fish and mammals [8][9][10]. We characterize the expression of a pathway that heavily influences the motivation to eat, neuropeptide F (neuropeptide Y in vertebrates [11]), during parental care in the subsocial burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, an insect with complex parental care [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of neuropeptide F in a transition to parental care

Cunningham¹,

VanDenHeuvel²,

Khana³

et al. 2016

Biol. Lett.

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The genetics of complex social behaviour can be dissected by examining the genetic influences of component pathways, which can be predicted based on expected evolutionary precursors. Here, we examine how gene expression in a pathway that influences the motivation to eat is altered during parental care that involves direct feeding of larvae. We examine the expression of neuropeptide F, and its receptor, in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, which feeds pre-digested carrion to its begging larvae. We found that the npf receptor was greatly reduced during active care. Our research provides evidence that feeding behaviour was a likely target during the evolution of parental care in N. vespilloides. Moreover, dissecting complex behaviours into ethologically distinct sub-behaviours is a productive way to begin to target the genetic mechanisms involved in the evolution of complex behaviours.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of neuropeptide F in a transition to parental care

Cunningham¹,

VanDenHeuvel²,

Khana³

et al. 2016

Biol. Lett.

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“…Bees at three different stages of maturation -nurses, foragers and pre-nursing bees like those used in the microarray experiment -were removed from the hive and fed either a rich or a poor diet for 4days, after which we measured gene expression in the fat bodies. We included diet-and maturation-regulated genes [based on microarray studies or previous qPCR studies (Ament et al, 2008;Ament et al, 2011) (Kim and Rulifson, 2004) and the short neuropeptide F receptor (snpfR) (Root et al, 2011) -for which we did not have previous evidence of differential expression between nurses and foragers or in response to diet. We confirmed that all 10 genes were differentially expressed between nurses and foragers (Fig.3).…”

Section: Maturational Changes In Fat Body Transcriptomic Responsivenementioning

confidence: 99%

“…qPCR was performed as described previously (Ament et al, 2011). cDNA was synthesized from 200ng total RNA.…”

Section: Quantitative Pcr (Qpcr)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of stable lipid loss in a social insect

Ament

Chan

Wheeler

et al. 2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

147

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SUMMARYWorker honey bees undergo a socially regulated, highly stable lipid loss as part of their behavioral maturation. We used largescale transcriptomic and proteomic experiments, physiological experiments and RNA interference to explore the mechanistic basis for this lipid loss. Lipid loss was associated with thousands of gene expression changes in abdominal fat bodies. Many of these genes were also regulated in young bees by nutrition during an initial period of lipid gain. Surprisingly, in older bees, which is when maximum lipid loss occurs, diet played less of a role in regulating fat body gene expression for components of evolutionarily conserved nutrition-related endocrine systems involving insulin and juvenile hormone signaling. By contrast, fat body gene expression in older bees was regulated more strongly by evolutionarily novel regulatory factors, queen mandibular pheromone (a honey bee-specific social signal) and vitellogenin (a conserved yolk protein that has evolved novel, maturationrelated functions in the bee), independent of nutrition. These results demonstrate that conserved molecular pathways can be manipulated to achieve stable lipid loss through evolutionarily novel regulatory processes. Supplementary material available online at

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“…, Human recombinant Zinc, Gibco, Grand Island, NY, USA) and control bees received 1 µl of Hepes buffer solution (25 mmol l −1 ) (Ament et al, 2011). Solutions were used immediately after melting and kept in ice during the procedure.…”

Section: Experimental Series and Injectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insulin effects on honeybee appetitive behaviour

Goñalons

Guiraud

Sanchez

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Worker honeybees (Apis mellifera) carry out multiple tasks throughout their adult lifespan. It has been suggested that the insulin/insulin-like signalling pathway participates in regulating behavioural maturation in eusocial insects. Insulin signalling increases as the honeybee worker transitions from nurse to food processor to forager. As behavioural shifts require differential usage of sensory modalities, our aim was to assess insulin effects on olfactory and gustatory responsiveness as well as on olfactory learning in preforaging honeybee workers of different ages. Adults were reared in the laboratory or in the hive. Immediately after being injected with insulin or vehicle (control), and focusing on the proboscis extension response, bees were tested for their spontaneous response to odours, sucrose responsiveness and ability to discriminate odours through olfactory conditioning. Bees injected with insulin have higher spontaneous odour responses. Sucrose responsiveness and odour discrimination are differentially affected by treatment according to age: whereas insulin increases gustatory responsiveness and diminishes learning abilities of younger workers, it has the opposite effect on older bees. In summary, insulin can improve chemosensory responsiveness in young workers, but also worsens their learning abilities to discriminate odours. The insulin signalling pathway is responsive in young workers, although they are not yet initiating outdoor activities. Our results show strong age-dependent effects of insulin on appetitive behaviour, which uncover differences in insulin signalling regulation throughout the honeybee worker's adulthood.

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Neuropeptide Y-like signalling and nutritionally mediated gene expression and behaviour in the honey bee

Cited by 68 publications

References 52 publications

The role of neuropeptide F in a transition to parental care

The role of neuropeptide F in a transition to parental care

Mechanisms of stable lipid loss in a social insect

Insulin effects on honeybee appetitive behaviour

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