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This study mapped dopamine and octopamine-producing neurons in red harvester ant brains and examined how their expression changes during temporal polyethism, the age-related transition from nursing to foraging behavior. Researchers found these neurons primarily in the protocerebrum and subesophageal zone, with dopaminergic neurons also in optic lobes and octopaminergic neurons in antennal lobes. Both dopamine and octopamine synthesis genes showed reduced expression in older forager ants compared to younger nurse ants, suggesting decreased biogenic amine production may correlate with the behavioral shift to foraging tasks.
Why it matters
Understanding the neurochemical basis of division of labor in social insects provides insights into how complex societies organize without centralized control. This knowledge could inform biomimetic approaches to distributed computing, robotics, and understanding age-related behavioral changes across species.
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⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed
Dieser Artikel wurde noch nicht von unabhängigen Experten begutachtet. Die Ergebnisse sind vorläufig und sollten mit Vorsicht interpretiert werden.
Many social insects, such as ants, change their behavior stereotypically from nursing to foraging as they age, a concept known as temporal polyethism. Biogenic amines are associated with these specific behaviors, but much about them remains poorly understood in these animals. Many aminergic systems lack anatomical characterization, and little is known about the expression of genes required for the aforementioned behavioral phenotypes. Here, we studied Pogonomyrmex barbatus brains and identified the neurons that produce two relevant amines, dopamine and octopamine, by detecting their synthesis enzymes, tyrosine hydroxylase and tyramine beta-hydroxylase, and their transcripts. We also compared the expression of both genes in young nurses and mature foragers by measuring the fluorescence intensity. Dopaminergic and octopaminergic neurons are predominantly located in the protocerebrum and in the subesophageal zone. Neurons that produce dopamine are also present in the optic lobes, whereas octopamine-producing ones show clusters in the antennal lobes. Both genes are downregulated as the organism ages. A reduction in the expression of these genes might be correlated with the mature worker’s increased propensity to perform extranidal tasks, such as foraging.