Activity of protein kinase A and gustatory responsiveness in the honey bee ( Apis mellifera L.).
The cAMP-dependent protein kinase A is involved in the induction of long-term memory and habituation in the bee. Gustatory responsiveness correlates strongly with associative and non-associative learning in bees. We tested whether protein kinase A activity in the antennal lobes correlates with gustatory responsiveness. Thirty minutes after feeding, bees with high gustatory responsiveness had a significantly higher protein kinase A activity than bees with low responsiveness. Ninety minutues after feeding, when gustatory responsiveness had increased in initially unresponsive bees, no changes in protein kinase A activity were found. We also tested time-dependent effects of protein kinase A activator and protein kinase A inhibitor on gustatory responsiveness. Injection of the protein kinase A activator adenosine 3'5'-cyclic monophosphate 8-bromo-sodium salt or of the protein kinase A inhibitor KT 5720 did not affect gustatory responsiveness within the first 4 h after treatment. Feeding of adenosine 3'5'-cyclic monophosphate 8-bromo-sodium salt over 4 days increased gustatory responsiveness in newly emerged bees and adult foragers. These results enable us to distinguish between two different forms of gustatory responsiveness: basal and transient gustatory responsiveness. Basal gustatory responsiveness correlates with protein kinase A activity and can only be modulated in the range of several days. Transient gustatory responsiveness appears to be independent of protein kinase A activity and can be modulated in the range of minutes to hours.
Scheiner
R
R
Institut für Okologie, Technische Universität Berlin, Franklinstr. 28/29, 10587, Berlin, Germany. rici0734@mailbox.tu-berlin.de
Müller
U
U
Heimburger
S
S
Erber
J
J
D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000502:physiology; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*
D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases