Christina Grozinger, Entomology and Genetics; W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, 2315 Gardner Hall, MC 7613, Raleigh, NC 27695
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are an excellent model for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying pheromone mediated changes in behavior. Honey bees are one of the few species with multiple chemically and behaviorally characterized pheromones, and these pheromones regulate a wide variety of complex behaviors (Slessor et al 2005 J Chem Ecol 31(11):2731-2745). We have focused on understanding the mechanisms by which queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) regulates a suite of primer and releaser responses in worker honey bees. Using microarrays, we found that QMP exposure alters expression of several hundred genes in the bee brain (Grozinger et al 2003 PNAS 100(S2): 14519-14525). Furthermore, the patterns of these gene expression changes correlate well with the behavioral changes produced by the pheromone. We are continuing investigations into the function and regulation of one of the candidate genes identified from these array studies, using behavioral assays, physiological and colony manipulations and quantitative real-time PCR. Our new findings show that the regulation of the expression of this gene in the bee brain in response to QMP depends on the physiological and behavioral state of the bee. By both studying the function of these genes and using them as brain markers of behavioral changes, we can gain insight into the mechanisms underlying behavioral plasticity.
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