title: Molecular determinants of scouting behavior in honey bees.
abstract: Little is known about the molecular basis of differences in behavior among individuals. Here we report consistent novelty-seeking behavior, across different contexts, among honey bees in their tendency to scout for food sources and nest sites, and we reveal some of the molecular underpinnings of this behavior relative to foragers that do not scout. Food scouts showed extensive differences in brain gene expression relative to other foragers, including differences related to catecholamine, glutamate, and γ-aminobutyric acid signaling. Octopamine and glutamate treatments increased the likelihood of scouting, whereas dopamine antagonist treatment decreased it. These findings demonstrate intriguing similarities in human and insect novelty seeking and suggest that this trait, which presumably evolved independently in these two lineages, may be subserved by conserved molecular components.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Zhengzheng S
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Trang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Heather R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Mattila
authors.forename: Sandra L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Zas
authors.forename: Thomas D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Seeley
authors.forename: Gene E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Robinson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D001516:Bees / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017344:Genes, Insect; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D009655:Octopamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000235:genetics; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D012970:Sodium Glutamate / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D059467:Transcriptome; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter; D009655:Octopamine; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D012970:Sodium Glutamate