title: Dance type and flight parameters are associated with different mushroom body neural activities in worker honeybee brains.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Honeybee foragers can transmit the information concerning the location of food sources to their nestmates using dance communication. We previously used a novel immediate early gene, termed kakusei, to demonstrate that the neural activity of a specific mushroom body (MB) neuron subtype is preferentially enhanced in the forager brain. The sensory information related to this MB neuron activity, however, remained unclear.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Here, we used kakusei to analyze the relationship between MB neuron activity and types of foraging behavior. The number of kakusei-positive MB neurons was higher in the round dancers that had flown a short distance than in the waggle dancers that had flown a long distance. Furthermore, the amount of kakusei transcript in the MBs inversely related to the waggle-phase duration of the waggle dance, which correlates with the flight distance. Using a narrow tunnel whose inside was vertically or axially lined, we manipulated the pattern of visual input, which is received by the foragers during flight, and analysed kakusei expression. The amount of kakusei transcript in the MBs was related to the foraging frequency but not to the tunnel pattern. In contrast, the number of kakusei-positive MB neurons was affected by the tunnel patterns, but not related to foraging frequency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that the MB neuron activity depends on the foraging frequency, whereas the number of active MB neurons is related to the pattern of visual input received during foraging flight. Our results suggest that the foraging frequency and visual experience during foraging are associated with different MB neural activities.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. kiya@staff.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Taketoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kiya
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kubo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D002452:Cell Count; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005426:Flight, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006608:Hierarchy, Social; D006722:Honey; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D024521:Mushroom Bodies / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger