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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2025

Preparation of Single-cohort Colonies and Hormone Treatment of Worker Honeybees to Analyze Physiology Associated with Role and/or Endocrine System

Preparation of Single-cohort Colonies and Hormone Treatment of Worker Honeybees to Analyze Physiology Associated with Role and/or Endocrine System

Published on: September 6, 2016

Dedicated developmental programing for group-supporting behaviors in eusocial honeybees.

Vivien Sommer¹, Jana Seiler¹, Alina Sturm¹

¹Institute of Evolutionary Genetics, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany.

Science Advances

|November 1, 2024

Summary

The doublesex (dsx) gene in honeybees is crucial for group-supporting behaviors in workers. This gene impacts social interactions and neuronal wiring, essential for eusocial society formation.

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Last Updated: Jun 8, 2025

Preparation of Single-cohort Colonies and Hormone Treatment of Worker Honeybees to Analyze Physiology Associated with Role and/or Endocrine System

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Behavioural Pharmacology in Classical Conditioning of the Proboscis Extension Response in Honeybees Apis mellifera

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Published on: January 24, 2011

Area of Science:

Behavioral Ecology
Neurogenetics
Evolutionary Biology

Background:

Eusociality involves complex social interactions and caste systems, but the underlying genetic mechanisms are not fully understood.
The doublesex (dsx) gene is known to regulate sexual differentiation and behavior in insects.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of the doublesex (dsx) gene in manifesting group-supporting behaviors in honeybee workers.
To explore the connection between dsx gene function, neuronal circuitry, and the development of eusocial behaviors.

Main Methods:

Computer-based individual behavioral tracking of honeybee (Apis mellifera) workers with dsx mutations.
Analysis of dsx gene expression and its role in neuronal wiring, specifically in the mushroom body.

Main Results:

The dsx gene is essential for the rate and duration of group-supporting behaviors in honeybee workers, impacting social scaling.
General sensorimotor functions were unaffected by dsx mutations.
Unexpectedly, dsx is required for the neuronal wiring of the mushroom body in honeybees, where it is spatially restricted.

Conclusions:

The study identifies dedicated genetic programming for group-supporting behaviors mediated by the dsx gene in honeybees.
Provides novel insights into how neuronal development, regulated by dsx, connects to behaviors fundamental for eusocial society formation.