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Cell Tissue Res

Title:		Olfactory subsystems in the honeybee: sensory supply and sex specificity
Author(s):		Kropf J; Kelber C; Bieringer K; Rossler W;
Address:		"Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, Biozentrum, University of Wurzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Wurzburg, Germany, jan.kropf@uni-wuerzburg.de"
Journal Title:		Cell Tissue Res
Year:		2014
Volume:		20140513
Issue:		3
Page Number:		583 - 595
DOI:		10.1007/s00441-014-1892-y
ISSN/ISBN:		1432-0878 (Electronic) 0302-766X (Print) 0302-766X (Linking)
Abstract:		"The antennae of honeybee (Apis mellifera) workers and drones differ in various aspects. One striking difference is the presence of Sensilla basiconica in (female) workers and their absence in (male) drones. We investigate the axonal projection patterns of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) housed in S. basiconica in honeybee workers by using selective anterograde labeling with fluorescent tracers and confocal-microscopy analysis of axonal projections in antennal lobe glomeruli. Axons of S. basiconica-associated ORNs preferentially projected into a specific glomerular cluster in the antennal lobe, namely the sensory input-tract three (T3) cluster. T3-associated glomeruli had previously been shown to be innervated by uniglomerular projection (output) neurons of the medial antennal lobe tract (mALT). As the number of T3 glomeruli is reduced in drones, we wished to determine whether this was associated with the reduction of glomeruli innervated by medial-tract projection neurons. We retrogradely traced mALT projection neurons in drones and counted the innervated glomeruli. The number of mALT-associated glomeruli was strongly reduced in drones compared with workers. The preferential projections of S. basiconica-associated ORNs in T3 glomeruli together with the reduction of mALT-associated glomeruli support the presence of a female (worker)-specific olfactory subsystem that is partly innervated by ORNs from S. basiconica and is associated with the T3 cluster of glomeruli and mALT projection neurons. We propose that this olfactory subsystem supports parallel olfactory processing related to worker-specific olfactory tasks such as the coding of colony odors, colony pheromones and/or odorants associated with foraging on floral resources"
Keywords:		"Animals Arthropod Antennae/cytology/innervation Axons/physiology Bees Female Male Models, Biological Olfactory Pathways/*physiology Olfactory Receptor Neurons/physiology Sensation/*physiology *Sex Characteristics Staining and Labeling;"
Notes:		"MedlineKropf, Jan Kelber, Christina Bieringer, Kathrin Rossler, Wolfgang eng Germany 2014/05/13 Cell Tissue Res. 2014 Sep; 357(3):583-95. doi: 10.1007/s00441-014-1892-y. Epub 2014 May 13"