spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

First published online August 23, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 3281-3288 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01151
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ben-Shahar, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Robinson, G. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ben-Shahar, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Robinson, G. E.

Phenotypic deconstruction reveals involvement of manganese transporter malvolio in honey bee division of labor

Yehuda Ben-Shahar1,*, Nichole L. Dudek1,{dagger} and Gene E. Robinson1,2

1 Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
2 Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA

* Author for correspondence at present address: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 500 EMRB, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA (e-mail: yehuda-ben-shahar{at}uiowa.edu)

Accepted 21 June 2004

Molecular analysis of a complex behavioral phenotype is facilitated by dissecting it into simpler behavioral components. Using this approach, we present evidence implicating increased manganese transport by the malvolio (mvl) gene into brain cells as one factor that influences age-related division of labor in honey bee colonies. We studied mvl because manganese affects sucrose responsiveness in Drosophila melanogaster, and sucrose responsiveness is related to division of labor in honey bee colonies. Honey bee foragers are more responsive to sucrose in the laboratory than are younger nurse bees, and pollen foragers are more responsive to sucrose than nectar foragers. Levels of mvl mRNA in the brain and manganese in the head were higher in pollen foragers compared with nurses, with nectar foragers intermediate. Manganese treatment increased honey bee sucrose responsiveness and caused precocious foraging. Manganese levels showed a similar pattern to mvl mRNA but manganese treatment did not increase pollen foraging. These results suggest that, while there are molecular pathways common to sucrose responsiveness and division of labor, linkages between a complex behavior and some of its simpler behavioral components are not obligatory. Together with previous findings, these results support the idea that some feeding-related genes in Drosophila have been used in social evolution to regulate division of labor.

Key words: mvl, Apis mellifera, foraging, sucrose response threshold, Hymenoptera.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
S. A. Ament, M. Corona, H. S. Pollock, and G. E. Robinson
Insulin signaling is involved in the regulation of worker division of labor in honey bee colonies
PNAS, March 18, 2008; 105(11): 4226 - 4231.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ScienceHome page
A. L. Toth, K. Varala, T. C. Newman, F. E. Miguez, S. K. Hutchison, D. A. Willoughby, J. F. Simons, M. Egholm, J. H. Hunt, M. E. Hudson, et al.
Wasp Gene Expression Supports an Evolutionary Link Between Maternal Behavior and Eusociality
Science, October 19, 2007; 318(5849): 441 - 444.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
C. W. Whitfield, Y. Ben-Shahar, C. Brillet, I. Leoncini, D. Crauser, Y. LeConte, S. Rodriguez-Zas, and G. E. Robinson
Inaugural Article: Genomic dissection of behavioral maturation in the honey bee
PNAS, October 31, 2006; 103(44): 16068 - 16075.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
S. Sinha, X. Ling, C. W. Whitfield, C. Zhai, and G. E. Robinson
Genome scan for cis-regulatory DNA motifs associated with social behavior in honey bees
PNAS, October 31, 2006; 103(44): 16352 - 16357.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2004