Individual differences in honey bee behavior enabled by plasticity in brain gene regulatory networks

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Ecology
• Molecular Biology
• Genomics

Background:

• Understanding the genetic and molecular underpinnings of behavioral variation is crucial in biology.
• The relationship between gene regulatory network (GRN) activity and individual behavioral differences, particularly plasticity, remains poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the molecular basis of behavioral plasticity in queenless honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies.
• To correlate brain gene expression and chromatin accessibility with observed behavioral variation.

Main Methods:

• High-throughput behavioral tracking to quantify individual behaviors (egg-laying, foraging).
• Analysis of brain gene expression and chromatin accessibility profiles.
• Construction of individual brain GRN models to assess transcription factor (TF) activity.

Main Results:

• Honey bee colonies exhibit a continuum of phenotypes, from specialists to generalists performing multiple behaviors.
• Brain gene expression and chromatin accessibility correlate with behavioral specialization.
• TF activity within brain GRNs strongly predicts individual behavior, with key regulatory regions showing enriched TF motifs.

Conclusions:

• Brain GRN plasticity plays a significant role in regulating behavioral variation and specialization in honey bees.
• These findings offer insights into the evolution of social behavior and the molecular mechanisms of behavioral adaptation.