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Pheromone representation in the ant antennal lobe changes with age
Taylor Hart1, Lindsey E Lopes1, Dominic D Frank1
1Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|February 26, 2024
Summary
Older ants show heightened responses to alarm pheromones due to increased sensitivity in specific antennal lobe glomeruli, impacting social insect division of labor and age-related behavioral plasticity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Insect Behavior
- Sensory Biology
Background:
- Age-related behavioral changes in social insects are linked to neural plasticity.
- Understanding neural regulation of age-dependent task performance is crucial.
- Older ants exhibit increased aggression and alarm responses.
Approach:
- Investigated age-related changes in odor coding in the antennal lobe (AL) of clonal raider ants (Ooceraea biroi).
- Utilized whole-AL calcium imaging to map odor representations of general odorants and alarm pheromones in young and old ants.
- Analyzed changes in glomeruli sensitivity to alarm pheromones and general odorants with age.
Key Points:
- Older ants displayed faster responses to alarm pheromones.
- Alarm pheromone representations were sparse but changed with age in specific glomeruli.
- Two glomeruli showed increased sensitivity to alarm pheromones and decreased sensitivity to general odorants with age.
Conclusions:
- Heightened alarm pheromone responses in older ants are mediated by increased sensitivity in two core glomeruli.
- Sensory modulation plays a significant role in social insect division of labor.
- This study highlights the neural basis of age-associated behavioral plasticity in social insects.
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