| Title: | cGMP modulates responses to queen mandibular pheromone in worker honey bees |
| Author(s): | Fussnecker BL; McKenzie AM; Grozinger CM; |
| Address: | "Department of Genetics, North Carolina State University, Box 7614, Raleigh 27695, USA. brendon.fussnecker@flywheelpartners.com" |
| Journal Title: | J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00359-011-0654-5 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1432-1351 (Electronic) 0340-7594 (Print) 0340-7594 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Responses to social cues, such as pheromones, can be modified by genotype, physiology, or environmental context. Honey bee queens produce a pheromone (queen mandibular pheromone; QMP) which regulates aspects of worker bee behavior and physiology. Forager bees are less responsive to QMP than young bees engaged in brood care, suggesting that physiological changes associated with behavioral maturation modulate response to this pheromone. Since 3',5'-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) is a major regulator of behavioral maturation in workers, we examined its role in modulating worker responses to QMP. Treatment with a cGMP analog resulted in significant reductions in both behavioral and physiological responses to QMP in young caged workers. Treatment significantly reduced attraction to QMP and inhibited the QMP-mediated increase in vitellogenin RNA levels in the fat bodies of worker bees. Genome-wide analysis of brain gene expression patterns demonstrated that cGMP has a larger effect on expression levels than QMP, and that QMP has specific effects in the presence of cGMP, suggesting that some responses to QMP may be dependent on an individual bees' physiological state. Our data suggest that cGMP-mediated processes play a role in modulating responses to QMP in honey bees at the behavioral, physiological, and molecular levels" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Bees/drug effects/*physiology Behavior, Animal/*physiology Cyclic GMP/analogs & derivatives/*physiology Feeding Behavior/drug effects/physiology Female Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects Male Mandible/physiology Pheromones/antagonists & inhib;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineFussnecker, Brendon L McKenzie, Alexander M Grozinger, Christina M eng R01 DC006395/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Germany 2011/06/01 J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2011 Sep; 197(9):939-48. doi: 10.1007/s00359-011-0654-5. Epub 2011 May 31" |
