title: Association of Amine-Receptor DNA Sequence Variants with Associative Learning in the Honeybee.
abstract: Octopamine- and dopamine-based neuromodulatory systems play a critical role in learning and learning-related behaviour in insects. To further our understanding of these systems and resulting phenotypes, we quantified DNA sequence variations at six loci coding octopamine-and dopamine-receptors and their association with aversive and appetitive learning traits in a population of honeybees. We identified 79 polymorphic sequence markers (mostly SNPs and a few insertions/deletions) located within or close to six candidate genes. Intriguingly, we found that levels of sequence variation in the protein-coding regions studied were low, indicating that sequence variation in the coding regions of receptor genes critical to learning and memory is strongly selected against. Non-coding and upstream regions of the same genes, however, were less conserved and sequence variations in these regions were weakly associated with between-individual differences in learning-related traits. While these associations do not directly imply a specific molecular mechanism, they suggest that the cross-talk between dopamine and octopamine signalling pathways may influence olfactory learning and memory in the honeybee.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. losialagisz@yahoo.com.|School of BEES, Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, The University of New South Wales, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. losialagisz@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lagisz
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Alison R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Mercer
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Mouzon
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Luana L S
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.|School of BEES, Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, The University of New South Wales, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001516:Bees / Q000235:genetics*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D017344:Genes, Insect; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D007858:Learning; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000235:genetics*; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D011954:Receptors, Dopamine; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter
keywords: Candidate genes; Learning; Memory; Olfactory conditioning; Pleiotropy; Polymorphism