| Title: | Dufour's gland analysis reveals caste and physiology specific signals in Bombus impatiens |
| Author(s): | Derstine NT; Villar G; Orlova M; Hefetz A; Millar J; Amsalem E; |
| Address: | "Department of Entomology, Center for Chemical Ecology, Center for Pollinator Research, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. ntd34@psu.edu. Department of Entomology, Center for Chemical Ecology, Center for Pollinator Research, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. School of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. School of Marine Sciences, Ruppin Academic Center, Kfar Monash, Israel. Departments of Entomology and Chemistry, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA" |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-021-82366-2 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Reproductive division of labor in insect societies is regulated through multiple concurrent mechanisms, primarily chemical and behavioral. Here, we examined if the Dufour's gland secretion in the primitively eusocial bumble bee Bombus impatiens signals information about caste, social condition, and reproductive status. We chemically analyzed Dufour's gland contents across castes, age groups, social and reproductive conditions, and examined worker behavioral and antennal responses to gland extracts. We found that workers and queens each possess caste-specific compounds in their Dufour's glands. Queens and gynes differed from workers based on the presence of diterpene compounds which were absent in workers, whereas four esters were exclusive to workers. These esters, as well as the total amounts of hydrocarbons in the gland, provided a separation between castes and also between fertile and sterile workers. Olfactometer bioassays demonstrated attraction of workers to Dufour's gland extracts that did not represent a reproductive conflict, while electroantennogram recordings showed higher overall antennal sensitivity in queenless workers. Our results demonstrate that compounds in the Dufour's gland act as caste- and physiology-specific signals and are used by workers to discriminate between workers of different social and reproductive status" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Arthropod Antennae/physiology Bees/*physiology Behavior, Animal/*physiology Biological Assay Female Hydrocarbons/analysis/metabolism Male Olfactometry Pheromones/analysis/metabolism Reproduction/*physiology Smell/physiology *Social Behavior;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineDerstine, Nathan T Villar, Gabriel Orlova, Margarita Hefetz, Abraham Millar, Jocelyn Amsalem, Etya eng Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2021/02/04 Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 2; 11(1):2821. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-82366-2" |
