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Elife

Title:		The cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of honey bee workers develop via a socially-modulated innate process
Author(s):		Vernier CL; Krupp JJ; Marcus K; Hefetz A; Levine JD; Ben-Shahar Y;
Address:		"Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, United States. Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada. Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel"
Journal Title:		Elife
Year:		2019
Volume:		20190205
Issue:
Page Number:		-
DOI:		10.7554/eLife.41855
ISSN/ISBN:		2050-084X (Electronic) 2050-084X (Linking)
Abstract:		"Large social insect colonies exhibit a remarkable ability for recognizing group members via colony-specific cuticular pheromonal signatures. Previous work suggested that in some ant species, colony-specific pheromonal profiles are generated through a mechanism involving the transfer and homogenization of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) across members of the colony. However, how colony-specific chemical profiles are generated in other social insect clades remains mostly unknown. Here we show that in the honey bee (Apis mellifera), the colony-specific CHC profile completes its maturation in foragers via a sequence of stereotypic age-dependent quantitative and qualitative chemical transitions, which are driven by environmentally-sensitive intrinsic biosynthetic pathways. Therefore, the CHC profiles of individual honey bees are not likely produced through homogenization and transfer mechanisms, but instead mature in association with age-dependent division of labor. Furthermore, non-nestmate rejection behaviors seem to be contextually restricted to behavioral interactions between entering foragers and guards at the hive entrance"
Keywords:		Animals Bees/*chemistry/*growth & development Environmental Exposure Hydrocarbons/*analysis Integumentary System/*growth & development Interpersonal Relations Pheromones/*analysis Apis melifera ecology honey bee social insects;
Notes:		"MedlineVernier, Cassondra L Krupp, Joshua J Marcus, Katelyn Hefetz, Abraham Levine, Joel D Ben-Shahar, Yehuda eng 1545778/National Science Foundation/International 1707221/National Science Foundation/International 1754264/National Science Foundation/International Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2019/02/06 Elife. 2019 Feb 5; 8:e41855. doi: 10.7554/eLife.41855"