C-type allatostatins mimic stress-related effects of alarm pheromone on honey bee learning and memory recall.
As honey bee populations worldwide are declining there is an urgent need for a deeper understanding of stress reactivity in these important insects. Our data indicate that stress responses in bees (Apis mellifera L.) may be mediated by neuropeptides identified, on the basis of sequence similarities, as allatostatins (ASTA, ASTC and ASTCC). Effects of allatostatin injection are compared with stress-related changes in learning performance induced by the honeybee alarm pheromone, isopentylacetate (IPA). We find that bees can exhibit two markedly different responses to IPA, with opposing effects on learning behaviour and memory generalisation, and that strikingly similar responses can be elicited by allatostatins, in particular ASTCC. These findings lend support to the hypothesis that allatostatins mediate stress reactivity in honey bees and suggest responses to stress in these insects are state dependent.
University of Otago, Department of Zoology, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Elodie
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0544-831X
E
Urlacher
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (UMR 5169), Toulouse, France.|Université de Toulouse, UPS Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (UMR 5169), Toulouse, France.
Jean-Marc
JM
Devaud
University of Otago, Department of Zoology, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Alison R
AR
Mercer
D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D011939:Mental Recall; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D000439:Pentanols / Q000378:metabolism*; D010675:Pheromones / Q000378:metabolism*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*
D009479:Neuropeptides; D000439:Pentanols; D010675:Pheromones; C076523:allatostatin; C020377:isoamyl acetate