The Role of Biogenic Amines in Social Insects: With a Special Focus on Ants

Mannino, Giuseppe; Casacci, Luca Pietro

doi:10.3390/insects14040386

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…Variation in biogenic amines levels have been identified as one of the leading causes of behavioral plasticity and specialization of social insects to different tasks (reviewed in ref. 132 ). Functional manipulation of biogenic amines has led to changes in behavior, dominance status and reproductive activity, as well as shifts in worker task performance 133 – 136 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Task-specific odorant receptor expression in worker antennae indicates that sensory filters regulate division of labor in ants

Caminer,

Libbrecht,

Majoe

et al. 2023

Commun Biol

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Division of labor (DOL) is a characteristic trait of insect societies, where tasks are generally performed by specialized individuals. Inside workers focus on brood or nest care, while others take risks by foraging outside. Theory proposes that workers have different thresholds to perform certain tasks when confronted with task-related stimuli, leading to specialization and consequently DOL. Workers are presumed to vary in their response to task-related cues rather than in how they perceive such information. Here, we test the hypothesis that DOL instead stems from workers varying in their efficiency to detect stimuli of specific tasks. We use transcriptomics to measure mRNA expression levels in the antennae and brain of nurses and foragers of the ant Temnothorax longispinosus. We find seven times as many genes to be differentially expressed between behavioral phenotypes in the antennae compared to the brain. Moreover, half of all odorant receptors are differentially expressed, with an overrepresentation of the 9-exon gene family upregulated in the antennae of nurses. Nurses and foragers thus apparently differ in the perception of their olfactory environment and task-related signals. Our study supports the hypothesis that antennal sensory filters predispose workers to specialize in specific tasks.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Task-specific odorant receptor expression in worker antennae indicates that sensory filters regulate division of labor in ants

Caminer,

Libbrecht,

Majoe

et al. 2023

Commun Biol

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“…Metabolomic analyses showed the diversity and functions of DMs in S. invicta following exposure to cycloxaprid over different durations. These DMs are various fatty acids, nucleotides, hormones, and amines, which participate in numerous physiological processes, including lipid and energy metabolism, DNA synthesis, hormone signaling, neurotransmission, and overall metabolic activity ( Weyel and Wegener, 1996 ; Gäde et al, 2003 ; Kaczmarek and Boguś, 2021 ; Barbero et al, 2023 ). Correlation analysis showed that 226 DEGs exhibited significant correlations with 54 DMs (|R| > 0.8, p < 0.05), indicating the tight interplay between metabolites and genes in S. invicta treated with cycloxaprid.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcriptome and metabolome comprehensive analysis reveal the molecular basis of slow-action and non-repellency of cycloxaprid against an eusocial pest, Solenopsis invicta

Du,

Jiang,

et al. 2023

Front. Physiol.

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The eusocial pest, red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), is a highly invasive species that poses significant threats to public safety, agriculture, and the ecological environment. Cycloxaprid, a newly identified effective, slow-acting, and non-repellent insecticide against S. invicta, allows contaminated individuals to transfer the insecticide among nestmates through body contact. However, the molecular-level changes occurring in S. invicta post cycloxaprid exposure and any molecular alterations contributing to the slow demise or decreased sensitivity remain unclear. In this study, transcriptomic and metabolomic techniques were used to investigate the molecular mechanisms of S. invicta exposed to cycloxaprid. Differential analysis results revealed 275, 323, and 536 differentially expressed genes at 12, 24, and 48 h, respectively. Genes involved in lipid and energy metabolism, DNA integration, and hormone synthesis were largely upregulated at 12 h, suggesting S. invicta might actively resist cycloxaprid impacts, and predominantly downregulated at 48 h, indicating further functional impairment and impending death. Also, we observed an imbalance in olfactory perception pathways at 12 h, which may indicate a disruption in the olfactory system of S. invicta. Metabolomic results showed that the regulation of most differential metabolites (DMs) was consistent with the expression changes of their related DEGs at different time points. Our study provides insights into the mechanism underlying slow-acting and non-repellent properties of cycloxaprid against S. invicta.

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No evidence that recruitment pheromone modulates olfactory, visual, or spatial learning in the ant Lasius niger

Koch,

Kabas,

Czaczkes

2024

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Pheromones are perhaps the most common form of intraspecific communication in the animal kingdom and used in various contexts. Their modulatory potential on cognitive processes has been demonstrated in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Particularly interesting in this regard are social insects, due to their extensive use of pheromones to organise collective behaviour. Recruitment pheromones might be expected to encourage learning, but could also hinder learning due to a blocking effect, whereby the pheromone already partially predicts the reward, hindering further cues being associated with the reward. Here, we use free-running learning assays using realistic pheromone strength to test for a modulation effect on learning in the black garden ant Lasius niger. We found no evidence that learning in three modalities (olfactory, visual, and spatial) is affected by the presence of a realistic pheromone trail. Interestingly, this is in contrast to findings in honeybees. The fact that associative learning does not seem to be influenced by recruitment pheromone in L. niger and reportedly the Argentine ant, while it is in honeybees, the possibly best-studied social insect species, is noteworthy. We speculate that a species-specific importance of social information use could drive modulatory effects of pheromones on a wide range of cognitive processes. Significance statement Pheromones have been shown to modulate associative learning in a variety of animals. Among social insects, attractive pheromone has been found to enhance associative olfactory learning in honeybees but not in ants. In ants, recruitment pheromone predicts a food source; therefore, it might hinder learning of a new cue for a food reward. We use a free-running learning assay to test for an effect of trail pheromone on associative learning in three different modalities—olfactory, spatial, visual—in Lasius niger, but find no evidence of any effect. Our learning assay demonstrated fast olfactory learning, moderate spatial learning, and no visual learning after only one training visit. Based on our findings, and findings in two other ant species, we speculate that the ecological foraging conditions of mass-recruiting ants, i.e. following a trail, have not favoured a modulation potential of recruitment pheromone opposed to attractive pheromone in honeybees.

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The Role of Biogenic Amines in Social Insects: With a Special Focus on Ants

Cited by 9 publications

References 103 publications

Task-specific odorant receptor expression in worker antennae indicates that sensory filters regulate division of labor in ants

Task-specific odorant receptor expression in worker antennae indicates that sensory filters regulate division of labor in ants

Transcriptome and metabolome comprehensive analysis reveal the molecular basis of slow-action and non-repellency of cycloxaprid against an eusocial pest, Solenopsis invicta

No evidence that recruitment pheromone modulates olfactory, visual, or spatial learning in the ant Lasius niger

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