The influence of endogenous dopamine levels on the density of [ ]SCH23390-binding sites in the brain of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L

Purnell, Melissa T.; Mitchell, Carleen J.; Taylor, David J.; Kokay, Ilona C.; Mercer, Alison R.

doi:10.1016/s0006-8993(99)02337-9

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Differential blockade of aversive and appetitive learning using pharmacological tools supports this view [2,16,17] and helps explain the selectivity of QMPs effects on associative olfactory learning behaviour in young worker bees. While QMP has a significant impact on dopamine levels and levels of dopamine receptor gene expression in the brain of young workers [5][6][7], removing the queen from a honey bee colony has no significant effect on levels of octopamine in the brain [5]. This is consistent with findings at the behavioural level that appetitive learning remains intact in young bees exposed to QMP [1].…”

Section: Aversive Learning In Young Worker Bees Is Blocked By Queen Msupporting

confidence: 83%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A bee-line into learning and memory mechanisms

Mercer

2008

Cell. Mol. Life Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Aversive Learning In Young Worker Bees Is Blocked By Queen Msupporting

confidence: 83%

“…If the queen is removed from the colony, however, dopamine in the brain of young workers increases to a level similar to that seen in foragers [5,6]. The pheromone responsible for lowering brain dopamine levels is QMP and specifically, one of QMPs key components, homovanillyl alcohol [7].…”

Section: Aversive Learning In Young Worker Bees Is Blocked By Queen Mmentioning

confidence: 89%

A bee-line into learning and memory mechanisms

Mercer

2008

Cell. Mol. Life Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Under normal colony conditions, dopamine levels in the brains of bees of foraging age (generally Ͼ3 weeks old) are significantly higher than in young worker bees performing tasks within the colony (19,20). If a colony is rendered queenless, however, dopamine in the brains of young workers increases to a level not significantly different from that found in foragers (21)(22)(23). We began our analysis of QMP's effects on dopamine pathways of the brain by asking whether changes in brain dopamine levels occur as a consequence of altered exposure to QMP.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…All bees were maintained at 34°C under constant darkness and fed ad libitum. HPLC with electrochemical detection (19,22,24) was used to measure brain dopamine levels in 2-day-old QMP-treated bees and in control bees of the same age. We found that young workers exposed to QMP exhibited significantly lower levels of dopamine in the brain than control bees ( Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Queen pheromone modulates brain dopamine function in worker honey bees

Beggs

Glendining²,

Marechal³

et al. 2007

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

157

139

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Honey bee queens produce a sophisticated array of chemical signals (pheromones) that influence both the behavior and physiology of their nest mates. Most striking are the effects of queen mandibular pheromone (QMP), a chemical blend that induces young workers to feed and groom the queen and primes bees to perform colony-related tasks. But how does this pheromone operate at the cellular level? This study reveals that QMP has profound effects on dopamine pathways in the brain, pathways that play a central role in behavioral regulation and motor control. In young worker bees, dopamine levels, levels of dopamine receptor gene expression, and cellular responses to this amine are all affected by QMP. We identify homovanillyl alcohol as a key contributor to these effects and provide evidence linking QMPinduced changes in the brain to changes at a behavioral level. This study offers exciting insights into the mechanisms through which QMP operates and a deeper understanding of the queen's ability to regulate the behavior of her offspring.Apis mellifera ͉ biogenic amines ͉ neuroethology ͉ neuromodulation ͉ pheromonal communication C omplex social interactions require systems of communication that are reliable and unambiguous. The honey bee, Apis mellifera, employs Ͼ50 substances to communicate with and to organize its colony, and the information that is conveyed between colony members is both subtle and sophisticated (1-3).Maintaining colony organization is a primary role of the queen, whose pheromones enable her to regulate not only the behavior but also the physiology of her nest mates. The most striking effects are those of queen mandibular pheromone (QMP), a chemical blend that induces young workers to feed and groom the queen (Fig. 1) and primes bees to perform colonyrelated tasks (4, 5). The retinue of workers that attend the queen facilitates the distribution of QMP throughout the colony, where it inhibits the rearing of new queens (6), helps prevent the development of worker ovaries (7), influences comb-building activities, (8) and affects the biosynthesis of juvenile hormone (9) [and hence the age-related behavioral ontogeny of recipient workers (10)]. Despite QMP's central role in the normal functioning and organization of honey bee colonies, very little is known about the cellular mechanisms through which it operates.We were intrigued by one of the key components of QMP, homovanillyl alcohol (HVA) (4). HVA (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylethanol) bears a striking structural resemblance to dopamine (see Fig. 1 Right), a biogenic amine that plays a central role in insect behavioral regulation and motor control (11-18). The presence of this compound within the pheromone blend suggested to us that dopamine function in the brain of recipient bees might be affected by exposure to QMP. To test this hypothesis, we exposed young workers to QMP and examined its effects on brain dopamine levels, levels of dopamine receptor gene expression, and cellular responses to this amine. The results provide compelling evidence that QMP al...

show abstract

“…Behavioral experiments were carried out between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in an attempt to avoid diel changes in brain amine levels that could potentially influence the learning performance of the bees (Purnell et al 2000). Bees in the three treatment groups described above (control, vehicle, 20-E) were restrained in individual harnesses as described elsewhere (Vergoz et al 2007a) and then left for 1 -1.5 h to adjust to their environment.…”

Section: Associative Olfactory Conditioningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Steroid hormone (20-hydroxyecdysone) modulates the acquisition of aversive olfactory memories in pollen forager honeybees

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Here, we examine effects of the steroid hormone, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20-E), on associative olfactory learning in the honeybee, Apis mellifera. 20-E impaired the bees' ability to associate odors with punishment during aversive conditioning, but did not interfere with their ability to associate odors with a food reward (appetitive learning). The steroid had a significant impact also on the expression of amine-receptor genes in centers of the brain involved in the formation and recall of associative olfactory memories (mushroom bodies). 20-E increased expression of the dopamine receptor gene, Amdop2, and reduced the expression of the putative dopamine/ecdysone receptor gene, Amgpcr19. Interestingly, Amgpcr19 tended to be highly expressed in the brains of foragers that exhibited strong aversive learning, but expressed at lower levels in bees that performed well in appetitive learning assays. In 2-d-old bees, transcript levels of the same gene could be reduced by queen mandibular pheromone, a pheromone that blocks aversive learning in young worker bees. As ecdysteroid levels rise to a peak 2 d after adult emergence and then fall to low levels in foragers, we examined aversive learning also in young worker bees. Aversive learning performance in 2-d-old bees was consistently poor. The results of this study indicate that learning in honeybees can be modulated by ecdysteroids. They highlight, in addition, a potential involvement of the putative dopamine/ecdysone receptor, AmGPCR19, in hormonal regulation of associative olfactory learning in the honeybee.

show abstract

The influence of endogenous dopamine levels on the density of [ ]SCH23390-binding sites in the brain of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L

Cited by 10 publications

References 53 publications

A bee-line into learning and memory mechanisms

A bee-line into learning and memory mechanisms

Queen pheromone modulates brain dopamine function in worker honey bees

Steroid hormone (20-hydroxyecdysone) modulates the acquisition of aversive olfactory memories in pollen forager honeybees

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About