Physiological correlates of division of labor among similarly aged honey bees

Huang, Zhiyong; Robinson, Gene E.; Borst, David W.

doi:10.1007/bf00192722

Cited by 190 publications

(152 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

131

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The samples were stored at Ϫ20°C until radioimmunoassays (RIA) were performed to determine JH titers. JH-III titer was determined with a JH-RIA previously used for other Hymenoptera (21,43,44). JH is a sesquiterpenoid hormone with six types found in different insect orders (24).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Juvenile hormone, reproduction, and worker behavior in the neotropical social waspPolistes canadensis

Giray

Giovanetti²,

West‐Eberhard³

2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

173

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous studies of the division of labor in colonies of eusocial Hymenoptera (wasps and bees) have led to two hypotheses regarding the evolution of juvenile hormone (JH) involvement. The novel-or single-function hypothesis proposes that the role of JH has changed from an exclusively reproductive function in primitively eusocial species (those lacking morphologically distinct queen and worker castes), to an exclusively behavioral function in highly eusocial societies (those containing morphologically distinct castes). In contrast, the split-function hypothesis proposes that JH originally functioned in the regulation of both reproduction and behavior in ancestral solitary species. Then, when reproductive and brood-care tasks came to be divided between queens and workers, the effects of JH were divided as well, with JH involved in regulation of reproductive maturation of egg-laying queens, and behavioral maturation, manifested as age-correlated changes in worker tasks, of workers. We report experiments designed to test these hypotheses. After documenting age-correlated changes in worker behavior (age polyethism) in the neotropical primitively eusocial wasp Polistes canadensis, we demonstrate that experimental application of the JH analog methoprene accelerates the onset of guarding behavior, an age-correlated task, and increases the number of foraging females; and we demonstrate that JH titers correlate with both ovarian development of queens and task differentiation in workers, as predicted by the split-function hypothesis. These findings support a view of social insect evolution that sees the contrasting worker and queen phenotypes as derived via decoupling of reproductive and brood-care components of the ancestral solitary reproductive physiology.behavioral development ͉ division of labor ͉ methoprene ͉ worker polyethism

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Juvenile hormone, reproduction, and worker behavior in the neotropical social waspPolistes canadensis

Giray

Giovanetti²,

West‐Eberhard³

2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

173

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Briefly, JH was extracted from hemolymph following the protocol established for honey bee hemolymph (Huang et al, 1994) and toluene was evaporated by vacuum centrifugation before adding the RIA components. The antiserum used in this study was diluted to 1:1250 in phosphate buffer (0.1 M, pH 7.4) supplemented with 0.1% bovine serum albumin fraction V (Sigma-Aldrich), 0.1% rabbit immunoglobulin G (Sigma-Aldrich) and 0.02% sodium azide (Goodman et al, 1995).…”

Section: Quantification Of Physiological Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social reversal of immunosenescence in honey bee workers

Amdam

Aase

Seehuus

et al. 2005

Experimental Gerontology

257

201

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A striking example of immunosenescence is seen in the honey bee (Apis mellifera) worker caste. The bees' age-associated transition from hive duties to more risky foraging activities is linked to a dramatic decline in immunity. Explicitly, it has been shown that an increase in the juvenile hormone (JH) level, which accompanies onset of foraging behavior, induces extensive hemocyte death through nuclear pycnosis. Here, we demonstrate that foragers that are forced to revert to hive-tasks show reversal of immunosenescence, i.e. a recovery of immunity with age. This recovery, which is triggered by a social manipulation, is accompanied by a drop in the endogenous JH titer and an increase in the hemolymph vitellogenin level. Vitellogenin is a zinc binding glycolipoprotein that has been implicated in the regulation of honey bee immune integrity. We also establish that worker immunosenescence is mediated by apoptosis, corroborating that reversal of immunosenescence emerges through proliferation of new cells. The results presented here, consequently, reveal a unique flexibility in honey bee immunity-a regulatory plasticity that may be of general biological interest.

show abstract

“…1C). Queen ovaries were quantified by counting the number of oocytes that were larger than 70% LME.Hemolymph JH titer analysis by RIA Juvenile hormone was extracted from the hemolymph as detailed previously (Huang et al, 1994), and quantified by RIA using a JH-specific antiserum (Goodman et al, 1990), [10- , Perkin Elmer Life Sciences, Waltham, MA, USA), and JH-III (Fluka, Munich, Germany) as the non-radioactive competitor. The assay has previously been validated for JH titer analyses in Hymenoptera (Goodman et al, 1993) and is detailed elsewhere (Hartfelder et al, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive status, endocrine physiology and chemical signaling in the Neotropical, swarm-founding eusocial wasp,Polybia micansDucke (Vespidae: Epiponini)

Kelstrup

Hartfelder

Nascimento

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the evolution of caste-based societies in Hymenoptera, the classical insect hormones juvenile hormone (JH) and ecdysteroids were co-opted into new functions. Social wasps, which show all levels of sociality and lifestyles, are an ideal group in which to study such functional changes. Virtually all studies on the physiological mechanisms underlying reproductive division of labor and caste functions in wasps have been done on independent-founding paper wasps, and the majority of these studies have focused on species specially adapted for overwintering. The relatively little-studied tropical swarm-founding wasps of the Epiponini (Vespidae) are a diverse group of permanently social wasps, with some species maintaining caste flexibility well into the adult phase. We investigated the behavior, reproductive status, JH and ecdysteroid titers in hemolymph, ecdysteroid content of the ovary and cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles in the caste-monomorphic, epiponine wasp Polybia micans Ducke. We found that the JH titer was not elevated in competing queens from established multiple-queen nests, but increased in lone queens that lack direct competition. In queenless colonies, JH titer rose transiently in young potential reproductives upon challenge by nestmates, suggesting that JH may prime the ovaries for further development. Ovarian ecdysteroids were very low in workers but higher and correlated with the number of vitellogenic oocytes in the queens. Hemolymph ecdysteroid levels were low and variable in both workers and queens. Profiles of P. micans CHCs reflected caste, age and reproductive status, but were not tightly linked to either hormone. These findings show a significant divergence in hormone function in swarm-founding wasps compared with independently founding ones. KEY WORDS: Challenge hypothesis, Cuticular hydrocarbons, Ecdysteroids, Epiponini, Juvenile hormone, Polistes INTRODUCTIONEusocial insects within the order Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants) are characterized by the production of distinct phenotypes (caste polyphenism) in the female sex: the queen, the worker and often additional physiologically or morphologically specialized types within the worker caste (Wilson, 1971;Hunt, 2006;Hunt et al., 2007;Robinson, 2009;Tibbetts and Izzo, 2009;Shukla et al., 2013). In most caste-based societies the development of such specialized phenotypes is induced or at least biased in a pre-imaginal stage, where qualitative or quantitative differences in diet, pheromonal signals, mechanical stimuli or other environmental cues trigger endogenous signaling cascades toward alternative developmental trajectories (Wilson, 1971; Chavarría-Pizarro and West-Eberhard, 2010;Suryanarayanan et al., 2011;Hartfelder and Emlen, 2012;Penick and Liebig, 2012). As with most polyphenisms in insects, juvenile hormone (JH) and ecdysteroids were co-opted to orchestrate distinct ontogenetic pathways on top of their wellconserved role in regulating the episodic, molt-based growth events in immature animals (Hartfelder and Emlen, 2012)....

show abstract

Physiological correlates of division of labor among similarly aged honey bees

Cited by 190 publications

References 46 publications

Juvenile hormone, reproduction, and worker behavior in the neotropical social waspPolistes canadensis

Juvenile hormone, reproduction, and worker behavior in the neotropical social waspPolistes canadensis

Social reversal of immunosenescence in honey bee workers

Reproductive status, endocrine physiology and chemical signaling in the Neotropical, swarm-founding eusocial wasp,Polybia micansDucke (Vespidae: Epiponini)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About