Title: | orco Mutagenesis Causes Loss of Antennal Lobe Glomeruli and Impaired Social Behavior in Ants |
Author(s): | Trible W; Olivos-Cisneros L; McKenzie SK; Saragosti J; Chang NC; Matthews BJ; Oxley PR; Kronauer DJC; |
Address: | "Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address: wtrible@rockefeller.edu. Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA. Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 23930, USA. Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address: dkronauer@rockefeller.edu" |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.cell.2017.07.001 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 1097-4172 (Electronic) 0092-8674 (Print) 0092-8674 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "Life inside ant colonies is orchestrated with diverse pheromones, but it is not clear how ants perceive these social signals. It has been proposed that pheromone perception in ants evolved via expansions in the numbers of odorant receptors (ORs) and antennal lobe glomeruli. Here, we generate the first mutant lines in the clonal raider ant, Ooceraea biroi, by disrupting orco, a gene required for the function of all ORs. We find that orco mutants exhibit severe deficiencies in social behavior and fitness, suggesting they are unable to perceive pheromones. Surprisingly, unlike in Drosophila melanogaster, orco mutant ants also lack most of the approximately 500 antennal lobe glomeruli found in wild-type ants. These results illustrate that ORs are essential for ant social organization and raise the possibility that, similar to mammals, receptor function is required for the development and/or maintenance of the highly complex olfactory processing areas in the ant brain. VIDEO ABSTRACT" |
Keywords: | "Animals Ants/*genetics/*physiology Arthropod Antennae/cytology/physiology Insect Proteins/genetics/*metabolism Mutagenesis Mutation Odorants Receptors, Odorant/genetics/*metabolism Social Behavior Crispr Formicidae Ooceraea biroi chemical communication ev;" |
Notes: | "MedlineTrible, Waring Olivos-Cisneros, Leonora McKenzie, Sean K Saragosti, Jonathan Chang, Ni-Chen Matthews, Benjamin J Oxley, Peter R Kronauer, Daniel J C eng DP2 GM105454/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ T32 GM066699/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ 2017/08/13 Cell. 2017 Aug 10; 170(4):727-735.e10. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.07.001" |