title: Neuropeptidomics of the carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus.
abstract: Ants show a rich behavioral repertoire and a highly complex organization, which have been attracting behavioral and sociobiological researchers for a long time. The neuronal underpinnings of ant behavior and social organization are, however, much less understood. Neuropeptides are key signals that orchestrate animal behavior and physiology, and it is thus feasible to assume that they play an important role also for the social constitution of ants. Despite the availability of different ant genomes and in silico prediction of ant neuropeptides, a comprehensive biochemical survey of the neuropeptidergic communication possibilities of ants is missing. We therefore combined different mass spectrometric methods to characterize the neuropeptidome of the adult carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus. We also characterized the local neuropeptide complement in different parts of the nervous and neuroendocrine system, including the antennal and optic lobes. Our analysis identifies 39 neuropeptides encoded by different prepropeptide genes, and in silico predicts new prepropeptide genes encoding CAPA peptides, CNMamide as well as homologues of the honey bee IDLSRFYGHFNT- and ITGQGNRIF-containing peptides. Our data provides basic information about the identity and localization of neuropeptides that is required to anatomically and functionally address the role and significance of neuropeptides in ant behavior and physiology.
authors: Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, University of Würzburg , Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany.
authors: Franziska
authors: F
authors: Schmitt
authors: Jens T
authors: JT
authors: Vanselow
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Schlosser
authors: Jörg
authors: J
authors: Kahnt
authors: Wolfgang
authors: W
authors: Rössler
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Wegener
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D040901:Proteomics
chemical_list: D009479:Neuropeptides
keywords: ant genome; brain plasticity; central nervous system; mass spectrometry; neurohormones; neuromodulation; neuropeptides; peptide prediction; social behavior; social hymenopterans