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Curr Biol

Title:		Comparative Development of the Ant Chemosensory System
Author(s):		Ryba AR; McKenzie SK; Olivos-Cisneros L; Clowney EJ; Pires PM; Kronauer DJC;
Address:		"Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA. Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland. Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address: dkronauer@rockefeller.edu"
Journal Title:		Curr Biol
Year:		2020
Volume:		20200618
Issue:		16
Page Number:		3223 - 3230
DOI:		10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.072
ISSN/ISBN:		1879-0445 (Electronic) 0960-9822 (Print) 0960-9822 (Linking)
Abstract:		"The insect antennal lobe (AL) contains the first synapses of the olfactory system, where olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) contact second-order projection neurons (PNs). In Drosophila melanogaster, OSNs expressing specific receptor genes send stereotyped projections to one or two of about 50 morphologically defined glomeruli [1-3]. The mechanisms for this precise matching between OSNs and PNs have been studied extensively in D. melanogaster, where development is deterministic and independent of neural activity [4-6]. However, a number of insect lineages, most notably the ants, have receptor gene repertoires many times larger than D. melanogaster and exhibit more structurally complex antennal lobes [7-12]. Moreover, perturbation of OSN function via knockout of the odorant receptor (OR) co-receptor, Orco, results in drastic AL reductions in ants [13, 14], but not in Drosophila [15]. Here, we characterize AL development in the clonal raider ant, Ooceraea biroi. We find that, unlike in Drosophila, ORs and Orco are expressed before the onset of glomerulus formation, and Orco protein is trafficked to developing axon terminals, raising the possibility that ORs play a role during ant AL development. Additionally, ablating ant antennae at the onset of pupation results in AL defects that recapitulate the Orco mutant phenotype. Thus, early loss of functional OSN innervation reveals latent structure in the AL that develops independently of peripheral input, suggesting that the AL is initially pre-patterned and later refined in an OSN-dependent manner. This two-step process might increase developmental flexibility and thereby facilitate the rapid evolution and expansion of the ant chemosensory system"
Keywords:		"Animals Ants/genetics/*growth & development/metabolism Arthropod Antennae/*cytology/metabolism *Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental Insect Proteins/genetics/*metabolism Olfactory Receptor Neurons/*cytology/metabolism Receptors, Odorant/genetics/*met;"
Notes:		"MedlineRyba, Anna R McKenzie, Sean K Olivos-Cisneros, Leonora Clowney, E Josephine Pires, Peter Mussells Kronauer, Daniel J C eng R01 DC018032/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ R35 GM127007/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ T32 GM066699/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ HHMI/Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2020/06/20 Curr Biol. 2020 Aug 17; 30(16):3223-3230.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.072. Epub 2020 Jun 18"