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Ferrante F, Pasquini E, Cappa F, Bellocchio L, Baracchi D. Unravelling the microplastic menace: Different polymers additively increase bee vulnerability. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2024; 352:124087. [PMID: 38703977 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2024] [Revised: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) are growing and ubiquitous environmental pollutants and represent one of the greatest contemporary challenges caused by human activities. Current research has predominantly examined the singular toxicological effects of individual polymers, neglecting the prevailing reality of organisms confronted with complex contaminant mixtures and potential synergistic effects. To fill this research gap, we investigated the lethal and sublethal effects of two common MPs, polystyrene (PS - 4.8-5.8 μm) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA - 1-40 μm), and their combination (MIX), on the pollinating insect Apis mellifera. For each treatment, we evaluated the oral toxicity of two ecologically relevant and one higher concentration (0.5, 5 and 50 mg/L) and analysed their effects on the immune system and worker survival. As immune activation can alter the cuticular hydrocarbon profile of honey bees, we used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to investigate whether MPs lead to changes in the chemical profile of foragers and behavioural assay to test whether such changes affect behavioural patterns of social recognition, undermining overall colony integrity. The results indicate an additive negative effect of PS and PMMA on bee survival and immune response, even at ecologically relevant concentrations. Furthermore, alterations in cuticle profiles were observed with both MPs at the highest and intermediate concentrations, with PMMA being mainly responsible. Both MPs exposure resulted in a reduction in the abundance of several cuticular compounds. Hive entry guards did not show increased inspection or aggressive behaviour towards exposed foragers, allowing them to enter the colony without being treated differently from uncontaminated foragers. These findings raise concerns not only for the health of individual bees, but also for the entire colony, which could be at risk if contaminated nestmates enter the colony undetected, allowing MPs to spread throughout the hive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Ferrante
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Italy; Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Viterbo, Largo dell'Università, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Elisa Pasquini
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Italy; Center for Mind/Brain Science (CIMeC), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Federico Cappa
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Bellocchio
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Italy
| | - David Baracchi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Italy.
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2
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Jin G, Hrithik MTH, Mandal E, Kil EJ, Jung C, Kim Y. Phospholipase A2 activity is required for immune defense of European (Apis mellifera) and Asian (Apis cerana) honeybees against American foulbrood pathogen, Paenibacillus larvae. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0290929. [PMID: 38319944 PMCID: PMC10846722 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Honeybees require an efficient immune system to defend against microbial pathogens. The American foulbrood pathogen, Paenibacillus larvae, is lethal to honeybees and one of the main causes of colony collapse. This study investigated the immune responses of Apis mellifera and Apis cerana honeybees against the bacterial pathogen P. larvae. Both species of honeybee larvae exhibited significant mortality even at 102 103 cfu/mL of P. larvae by diet-feeding, although A. mellifera appeared to be more tolerant to the bacterial pathogen than A. cerana. Upon bacterial infection, the two honeybee species expressed both cellular and humoral immune responses. Hemocytes of both species exhibited characteristic spreading behaviors, accompanied by cytoskeletal extension along with F-actin growth, and formed nodules. Larvae of both species also expressed an antimicrobial peptide called apolipophorin III (ApoLpIII) in response to bacterial infection. However, these immune responses were significantly suppressed by a specific inhibitor to phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Each honeybee genome encodes four PLA2 genes (PLA2A ~ PLA2D), representing four orthologous combinations between the two species. In response to P. larvae infection, both species significantly up-regulated PLA2 enzyme activities and the expression of all four PLA2 genes. To determine the roles of the four PLA2s in the immune responses, RNA interference (RNAi) was performed by injecting gene-specific double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs). All four RNAi treatments significantly suppressed the immune responses, and specific inhibition of the two secretory PLA2s (PLA2A and PLA2B) potently suppressed nodule formation and ApoLpIII expression. These results demonstrate the cellular and humoral immune responses of A. mellifera and A. cerana against P. larvae. This study suggests that eicosanoids play a crucial role in mediating common immune responses in two closely related honeybees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gahyeon Jin
- Department of Plant Medicals, Andong National University, Andong, Korea
| | | | - Eeshita Mandal
- Department of Plant Medicals, Andong National University, Andong, Korea
| | - Eui-Joon Kil
- Department of Plant Medicals, Andong National University, Andong, Korea
| | - Chuleui Jung
- Department of Plant Medicals, Andong National University, Andong, Korea
| | - Yonggyun Kim
- Department of Plant Medicals, Andong National University, Andong, Korea
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3
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Maigoro AY, Lee JH, Kim H, Frunze O, Kwon HW. Gut Microbiota of Apis mellifera at Selected Ontogenetic Stages and Their Immunogenic Potential during Summer. Pathogens 2024; 13:122. [PMID: 38392860 PMCID: PMC10893431 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13020122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are pollinating agents of economic importance. The role of the gut microbiome in honeybee health has become increasingly evident due to its relationship with immune function, growth, and development. Although their dynamics at various developmental stages have been documented, their dynamics during the era of colony collapse disorder and immunogenic potential, which are connected to the antagonistic immune response against pathogens, need to be elucidated. Using 16S rRNA gene Illumina sequencing, the results indicated changes in the gut microbiota with the developmental stage. The bacterial diversity of fifth stage larva was significantly different among the other age groups, in which Fructobacillus, Escherichia-Shigella, Bombella, and Tyzzerella were unique bacteria. In addition, the diversity of the worker bee microbiome was distinct from that of the younger microbiome. Lactobacillus and Gilliamella remained conserved throughout the developmental stages, while Bifidobacterium colonized only worker bees. Using an in silico approach, the production potential of lipopolysaccharide-endotoxin was predicted. Forager bees tend to have a higher abundance rate of Gram-negative bacteria. Our results revealed the evolutionary importance of some microbiome from the larval stage to the adult stage, providing insight into the potential dynamics of disease response and susceptibility. This finding provides a theoretical foundation for furthering the understanding of the function of the gut microbiota at various developmental stages related to probiotic development and immunogenic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdulkadir Yusif Maigoro
- Convergence Research Center for Insect Vectors, Incheon National University, Incheon 22012, Republic of Korea (H.K.)
| | - Jeong-Hyeon Lee
- Department of Life Sciences, College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Incheon National University, Incheon 22012, Republic of Korea;
| | - Hyunjee Kim
- Convergence Research Center for Insect Vectors, Incheon National University, Incheon 22012, Republic of Korea (H.K.)
| | - Olga Frunze
- Convergence Research Center for Insect Vectors, Incheon National University, Incheon 22012, Republic of Korea (H.K.)
| | - Hyung-Wook Kwon
- Convergence Research Center for Insect Vectors, Incheon National University, Incheon 22012, Republic of Korea (H.K.)
- Department of Life Sciences, College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Incheon National University, Incheon 22012, Republic of Korea;
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4
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Esparza-Mora MA, Mazumdar T, Jiang S, Radek R, Thiem JN, Feng L, Petrašiūnaitė V, Banasiak R, Golian M, Gleske M, Lucas C, Springer A, Buellesbach J, McMahon DP. Defensive behavior is linked to altered surface chemistry following infection in a termite society. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20606. [PMID: 37996442 PMCID: PMC10667546 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42947-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The care-kill response determines whether a sick individual will be treated or eliminated from an insect society, but little is known about the physiological underpinnings of this process. We exploited the stepwise infection dynamics of an entomopathogenic fungus in a termite to explore how care-kill transitions occur, and identify the chemical cues behind these shifts. We found collective responses towards pathogen-injected individuals to vary according to severity and timing of pathogen challenge, with elimination, via cannibalism, occurring sooner in response to a severe active infection. However, injection with inactivated fungal blastospores also resulted in increased albeit delayed cannibalism, even though it did not universally cause host death. This indicates that the decision to eliminate an individual is triggered before pathogen viability or terminal disease status has been established. We then compared the surface chemistry of differently challenged individuals, finding increased amounts of long-chained methyl-branched alkanes with similar branching patterns in individuals injected with both dead and viable fungal blastospores, with the latter showing the largest increase. This coincided with the highest amounts of observed cannibalism as well as signs of severe moribundity. Our study provides new mechanistic insight into the emergent collective behaviors involved in the disease defense of a termite society.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Alejandra Esparza-Mora
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tilottama Mazumdar
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany
| | - Shixiong Jiang
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany
| | - Renate Radek
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Julian N Thiem
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Linshan Feng
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Vesta Petrašiūnaitė
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ronald Banasiak
- Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marek Golian
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstraße 1, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Melanie Gleske
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstraße 1, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Christophe Lucas
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte (UMR7261), CNRS-University of Tours, Tours, France
| | - Andreas Springer
- Core Facility BioSupraMol, Department of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustraße 3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jan Buellesbach
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstraße 1, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Dino P McMahon
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
- Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany.
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5
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de Souza AR, Prato A, Franca W, Santos S, Lima LD, Alves DA, Bernardes RC, Santos EF, do Nascimento FS, Lima MAP. A predatory social wasp does not avoid nestmates contaminated with a fungal biopesticide. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 30:103851-103861. [PMID: 37695481 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-29770-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Fungus-based biopesticides have been used worldwide for crop pest control as a safer alternative to chemical pesticides such as neonicotinoids. Both agrochemicals can be lethal and may also trigger side effects on the behavioral traits of non-target social insects, which play a crucial role in providing essential biological pest control services in agroecosystems. Here, we evaluated whether a commercial formulation of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana or the neonicotinoid imidacloprid causes mortality in foragers of Mischocyttarus metathoracicus. These social wasps are natural enemies of caterpillars and other herbivorous insects and inhabit both urban and agricultural environments in Brazil. We also tested whether wasps discriminate between biopesticide-exposed and unexposed conspecifics. Through a combination of laboratory (survival assay) and field experiments (lure presentation), along with chemical analyses (cuticular hydrocarbon profiles), we showed that topic exposure to the label rate of each pesticide causes a lethal effect, with the biopesticide exhibiting a slower effect. Moreover, wasps do not discriminate biopesticide-exposed from unexposed conspecifics, likely because of the similarity of their cuticular chemical profiles 24 h after exposure. Overall, the delayed lethal time at the individual level, combined with the indistinctive chemical cues of exposure and the lack of discrimination by conspecifics suggests that the fungal biopesticide may ultimately pose a threat to the colony survival of this predatory wasp.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Rodrigues de Souza
- Department of Biology, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências E Letras de Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Av Bandeirantes 2900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil.
| | - Amanda Prato
- Department of Biology, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências E Letras de Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Av Bandeirantes 2900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Wilson Franca
- Department of Biology, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências E Letras de Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Av Bandeirantes 2900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Sircio Santos
- Department of Biology, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências E Letras de Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Av Bandeirantes 2900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Luan Dias Lima
- Department of Biology, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências E Letras de Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Av Bandeirantes 2900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Denise Araujo Alves
- Department of Entomology and Acarology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Eduardo Fernando Santos
- Department of Zoology E Botany, Sao Paulo State University "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Fábio Santos do Nascimento
- Department of Biology, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências E Letras de Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Av Bandeirantes 2900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
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6
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Anderson A, Keime N, Fong C, Kraemer A, Fassbinder-Orth C. Resilin Distribution and Abundance in Apis mellifera across Biological Age Classes and Castes. INSECTS 2023; 14:764. [PMID: 37754732 PMCID: PMC10532044 DOI: 10.3390/insects14090764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
The presence of resilin, an elastomeric protein, in insect vein joints provides the flexible, passive deformations that are crucial to flapping flight. This study investigated the resilin gene expression and autofluorescence dynamics among Apis mellifera (honey bee) worker age classes and drone honey bees. Resilin gene expression was determined via ddPCR on whole honey bees and resilin autofluorescence was measured in the 1m-cu, 2m-cu, Cu-V, and Cu2-V joints on the forewing and the Cu-V joint of the hindwing. Resilin gene expression varied significantly with age, with resilin activity being highest in the pupae. Autofluorescence of the 1m-cu and the Cu-V joints on the ventral forewing and the Cu-V joint on the ventral hindwing varied significantly between age classes on the left and right sides of the wing, with the newly emerged honey bees having the highest level of resilin autofluorescence compared to all other groups. The results of this study suggest that resilin gene expression and deposition on the wing is age-dependent and may inform us more about the physiology of aging in honey bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Audrey Anderson
- Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1400 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA;
| | - Noah Keime
- Biology Department, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178, USA
| | - Chandler Fong
- Biology Department, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178, USA
| | | | - Carol Fassbinder-Orth
- Biology Department, Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178, USA
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7
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Kavaliers M, Wah DTO, Bishnoi IR, Ossenkopp KP, Choleris E. Disgusted snails, oxytocin, and the avoidance of infection threat. Horm Behav 2023; 155:105424. [PMID: 37678092 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 08/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
Disgust is considered to be a fundamental affective state associated with triggering the behavioral avoidance of infection and parasite/pathogen threat. In humans, and other vertebrates, disgust affects how individuals interact with, and respond to, parasites, pathogens and potentially infected conspecifics and their sensory cues. Here we show that the land snail, Cepaea nemoralis, displays a similar "disgust-like" state eliciting behavioral avoidance responses to the mucus associated cues of infected and potentially infected snails. Brief exposure to the mucus of snails treated with the Gram-negative bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), elicited dose-related behavioral avoidance, including acute antinociceptive responses, similar to those expressed by mammals. In addition, exposure to the mucus cues of LPS treated snails led to a subsequent avoidance of unfamiliar individuals, paralleling the recognition of and avoidance responses exhibited by vertebrates exposed to potential pathogen risk. Further, the avoidance of, and antinociceptive responses to, the mucus of LPS treated snails were attenuated in a dose-related manner by the oxytocin (OT) receptor antagonist, L-368,899. This supports the involvement of OT and OT receptor homologs in the expression of infection avoidance, and consistent with the roles of OT in the modulation of responses to salient social and infection threats by rodents and other vertebrates. These findings with land snails are indicative of evolutionarily conserved disgust-like states associated with OT/OT receptor homolog modulated behavioral avoidance responses to infection and pathogen threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Kavaliers
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.
| | - Deanne T O Wah
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Indra R Bishnoi
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Klaus-Peter Ossenkopp
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Elena Choleris
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
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8
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Durand T, Bonjour-Dalmon A, Dubois E. Viral Co-Infections and Antiviral Immunity in Honey Bees. Viruses 2023; 15:v15051217. [PMID: 37243302 DOI: 10.3390/v15051217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the past few decades, honey bees have been facing an increasing number of stressors. Beyond individual stress factors, the synergies between them have been identified as a key factor in the observed increase in colony mortality. However, these interactions are numerous and complex and call for further research. Here, in line with our need for a systemic understanding of the threats that they pose to bee health, we review the interactions between honey bee viruses. As viruses are obligate parasites, the interactions between them not only depend on the viruses themselves but also on the immune responses of honey bees. Thus, we first summarise our current knowledge of the antiviral immunity of honey bees. We then review the interactions between specific pathogenic viruses and their interactions with their host. Finally, we draw hypotheses from the current literature and suggest directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tristan Durand
- National Research Institute for Agriculture Food and Environement, INRAE, UR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon, France
- French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety, ANSES, 06902 Sophia Antipolis, France
| | - Anne Bonjour-Dalmon
- National Research Institute for Agriculture Food and Environement, INRAE, UR 406 Abeilles et Environnement, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon, France
| | - Eric Dubois
- French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety, ANSES, 06902 Sophia Antipolis, France
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9
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Stock M, Milutinović B, Hoenigsberger M, Grasse AV, Wiesenhofer F, Kampleitner N, Narasimhan M, Schmitt T, Cremer S. Pathogen evasion of social immunity. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:450-460. [PMID: 36732670 PMCID: PMC9998270 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-01981-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Treating sick group members is a hallmark of collective disease defence in vertebrates and invertebrates alike. Despite substantial effects on pathogen fitness and epidemiology, it is still largely unknown how pathogens react to the selection pressure imposed by care intervention. Using social insects and pathogenic fungi, we here performed a serial passage experiment in the presence or absence of colony members, which provide social immunity by grooming off infectious spores from exposed individuals. We found specific effects on pathogen diversity, virulence and transmission. Under selection of social immunity, pathogens invested into higher spore production, but spores were less virulent. Notably, they also elicited a lower grooming response in colony members, compared with spores from the individual host selection lines. Chemical spore analysis suggested that the spores from social selection lines escaped the caregivers' detection by containing lower levels of ergosterol, a key fungal membrane component. Experimental application of chemically pure ergosterol indeed induced sanitary grooming, supporting its role as a microbe-associated cue triggering host social immunity against fungal pathogens. By reducing this detection cue, pathogens were able to evade the otherwise very effective collective disease defences of their social hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Stock
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Barbara Milutinović
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria. .,Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics, Division of Molecular Biology, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | | | - Anna V Grasse
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | | | - Niklas Kampleitner
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | | | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria.
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10
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Lo LK, R R, Tewes LJ, Milutinović B, Müller C, Kurtz J. Immune Stimulation via Wounding Alters Chemical Profiles of Adult Tribolium castaneum. J Chem Ecol 2023; 49:46-58. [PMID: 36539674 PMCID: PMC9941273 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-022-01395-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 11/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Group-living individuals experience immense risk of disease transmission and parasite infection. In social and in some non-social insects, disease control with immunomodulation arises not only via individual immune defenses, but also via infochemicals such as contact cues and (defensive) volatiles to mount a group-level immunity. However, little is known about whether activation of the immune system elicits changes in chemical phenotypes, which may mediate these responses. We here asked whether individual immune experience resulting from wounding or injection of heat-killed Bacillus thuringiensis (priming) leads to changes in the chemical profiles of female and male adult red flour beetles, Tribolium castaneum, which are non-social but gregarious. We analyzed insect extracts using GC-FID to study the chemical composition of (1) cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) as candidates for the transfer of immunity-related information between individuals via contact, and (2) stink gland secretions, with analysis of benzoquinones as main active compounds regulating 'external immunity'. Despite a pronounced sexual dimorphism in CHC profiles, wounding stimulation led to similar profile changes in males and females with increases in the proportion of methyl-branched alkanes compared to naïve beetles. While changes in the overall secretion profiles were less pronounced, absolute amounts of benzoquinones were transiently elevated in wounded compared to naïve females. Responses to priming were insignificant in CHCs and secretions. We suggest that changes in different infochemicals after wounding may mediate immune status signaling in the context of both internal and external immune responses in groups of this non-social insect, thus showing parallels to social immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lai Ka Lo
- grid.5949.10000 0001 2172 9288Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstr. 1, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Reshma R
- grid.5949.10000 0001 2172 9288Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstr. 1, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Lisa Johanna Tewes
- grid.7491.b0000 0001 0944 9128Department of Chemical Ecology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Barbara Milutinović
- grid.5949.10000 0001 2172 9288Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstr. 1, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Caroline Müller
- grid.7491.b0000 0001 0944 9128Department of Chemical Ecology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Joachim Kurtz
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstr. 1, 48149, Münster, Germany.
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11
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Moran MN, Aguero CM, Eyer PA, Vargo EL. Rescue Strategy in a Termite: Workers Exposed to a Fungal Pathogen Are Reintegrated Into the Colony. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.840223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social insect colonies are characterized by an efficient division of labor, allowing high-value individuals (i.e., reproductives and brood) to be sheltered from tasks associated with increased risk of pathogen exposure, such as foraging or corpse disposal. This social organization helps limit the transmission of disease throughout the colony. Further, individuals can actively respond to imminent disease threats by altering their behaviors as a means of social immunity. In subterranean termites, although workers typically avoid detected pathogens, they can be attracted to pathogen cues when a nestmate is infected. Infected termites are usually groomed, but they may instead be cannibalized if the infection has already become lethal. The mechanisms governing these changes in behavior are unclear. We set out to examine immediate changes in individual behaviors, investigating the role that the infected individual plays in communicating its infection status to nestmates. We also assessed gradual changes in social organization after the re-introduction of an infected termite to the colony. Our results reveal that infected termites likely do not signal their infection status to nestmates through shaking behaviors and reduced movements, suggesting the occurrence of other mechanisms used in communicating infection. We also found that infected termites do not self-isolate and may travel to the densest part of the colony, where they can potentially benefit from grooming by large groups of nestmates. These results provide new insights into how individual changes in immune behaviors contribute to overall colony health, highlighting that, at early stages of infection, termites favor a rescuing strategy rather than isolation and/or cannibalization.
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Milutinović B, Schmitt T. Chemical cues in disease recognition and their immunomodulatory role in insects. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2022; 50:100884. [PMID: 35151903 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2022.100884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Preventing infections is crucial for host fitness and many insects modify their behaviour upon sensing a contagion. We review chemical cues that mediate insect behaviour in response to parasites, and diseased or dead conspecifics. Considering the large diversity of behavioural disease defences described, surprisingly little is known about disease-associated cues that mediate them, especially their chemoreceptor and neuronal details. Interestingly, disease cues do not only modify host behaviour, but they could also play a direct role in immune system activation via neuroendocrine regulation, bypassing the need for risky immunological contact with the parasite. Such crosstalk is an exciting emerging research area in insect ecological immunology that should prove invaluable in studying host-parasite interactions by combining analytical methods from chemical ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Milutinović
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstrasse 1, 48149 Münster, Germany; Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics, Division of Molecular Biology, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
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13
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Social immunity in the honey bee: do immune-challenged workers enter enforced or self-imposed exile? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03139-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Animals living in large colonies are especially vulnerable to infectious pathogens and may therefore have evolved additional defences. Eusocial insects supplement their physiological immune systems with ‘social immunity’, a set of adaptations that impedes the entrance, establishment, and spread of pathogens in the colony. We here find that honey bee workers (Apis mellifera) that had been experimentally immune-challenged with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) often exited the hive and subsequently died; some individuals were dragged out by other workers, while others appeared to leave voluntarily. In a second experiment, we found that healthy workers treated with surface chemicals from LPS-treated bees were evicted from the hive more often than controls, indicating that immune-challenged bees produce chemical cues or signals that elicit their eviction. Thirdly, we observed pairs of bees under lab conditions, and found that pairs spent more time apart when one member of the pair had received LPS, relative to controls. Our findings suggest that immune-challenged bees altruistically banish themselves, and that workers evict sick individuals which they identify using olfactory cues, putatively because of (kin) selection to limit the spread of pathogens within colonies.
Significance statement
Just as in humans, animals living in large groups must contend with infectious diseases. Social insects such as honey bees have evolved a range of behavioural and organisational defences against disease, collectively termed ‘social immunity’. Here, we describe experiments in which we introduced immune-stimulated bee workers into hives to study social immunity. We find that bees that were wounded or immune-challenged were more likely to leave the hive—resulting in their death—compared to healthy controls. Some of the bees leaving the hive were ejected by other workers, while some left the hive seemingly by choice: we thus find evidence for both ‘banishment’ of immune-challenged bees and self-imposed exile. Furthermore, using experiments transferring chemical signals between healthy and immune stimulated bees, we establish that the latter are identified for banishment by the chemicals present on their body surface.
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Almeida FCR, Magalhães DM, Favaris AP, Rodríguez J, Azevedo KEX, Bento JMS, Alves DA. Side effects of a fungus-based biopesticide on stingless bee guarding behaviour. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 287:132147. [PMID: 34492415 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Pathogenic fungi have been used worldwide to control crop pests and are assumed to pose negligible threats to the survival of pollinators. Although eusocial stingless bees provide essential pollination services and might be exposed to these biopesticides in tropical agroecosystems, there is a substantial knowledge gap regarding the side effects of fungal pathogens on behavioural traits that are crucial for colony functioning, such as guarding behaviour. Here, we evaluated the effect of Beauveria bassiana on the sophisticated kin recognition system of Tetragonisca angustula, a bee with morphologically specialized entrance guards. By combining behavioural assays and chemical analyses, we show that guards detect pathogen-exposed nestmates, preventing them from accessing nests. Furthermore, cuticular profiles of pathogen-exposed foragers contained significantly lower amounts of linear alkanes than the unexposed ones. Such chemical cues associated with fungal conidia may potentially trigger aggression towards pathogen-exposed bees, preventing pathogen spread into and among colonies. This is the first demonstration that this highly abundant native bee seems to respond in a much more adaptive way to a potentially infectious threat, outweighing the costs of losing foraging workforce when reducing the chances of fungal pathogen outbreaks within their colonies, than honeybees do.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Chagas Rocha Almeida
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Diego Martins Magalhães
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Arodí Prado Favaris
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Jonathan Rodríguez
- Laboratory of Pathology and Microbial Control, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Kamila Emmanuella Xavier Azevedo
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - José Maurício Simões Bento
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Denise Araujo Alves
- Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil.
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15
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Schuehly W, Riessberger-Gallé U, Hernández López J. Sublethal pesticide exposure induces larval removal behavior in honeybees through chemical cues. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2021; 228:113020. [PMID: 34856485 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.113020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We were intrigued by reported observations of reduced brood production and a high number of empty brood cells in bee colonies exposed to sublethal pesticide doses, which could suggest an active removal of larvae. Higher numbers of oenocytes, insect cells responsible for lipid processing and detoxification, were also found in pesticide-exposed larvae. Oenocytes are involved in hydrocarbon metabolism and chemical communication, and we hypothesized that these larvae could display altered cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles when exposed to pesticides as compared to control larvae. In addition, we proposed that these chemical cues could trigger specific behavioral responses in colony nurses. To test these hypotheses, we analyzed the CHC profiles of artificially reared larvae that had been fed sublethal doses of either dimethoate or clothianidin or fed on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We found significant differences in the CHC profiles of these differently treated larvae. In a subsequent behavioral experiment, we transferred clothianidin-treated or LPS-treated larvae into the brood combs of surrogate colonies. Larvae that had been fed either the pesticide or LPS were removed at a significantly higher rate than control larvae. Our results demonstrate that larvae exposed to clothianidin possess altered CHC profiles, are detected in the colony by nurse bees via chemical cues and are actively removed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfgang Schuehly
- Department of Biology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, A-8010 Graz, Austria
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16
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Effect of feeding chitosan or peptidoglycan on Nosema ceranae infection and gene expression related to stress and the innate immune response of honey bees (Apis mellifera). J Invertebr Pathol 2021; 185:107671. [PMID: 34563551 DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2021.107671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Nosema ceranae is a microsporidian parasite that causes nosema disease, an infection of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) midgut. Two pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), chitosan and peptidoglycan, and N. ceranae spores were fed to worker bees in sucrose syrup and compared to non-inoculated and N. ceranae-inoculated bees without PAMPs. Both chitosan and peptidoglycan significantly increased bee survivorship and reduced spore numbers due to N. ceranae infection. To determine if these results were related to changes in health status, expression of the immune-related genes, hymenoptaecin and defensin2, and the stress tolerance-related gene, blue cheese, was compared to that of control bees. Compared to the inoculated control, bees with the dose of chitosan that significantly reduced N. ceranae spore numbers showed lower expression of hymenoptaecin and defensin2 early after infection, higher expression mid-infection of defensin2 and lower expression of all three genes late in infection. In contrast, higher expression of defensin2 early in the infection and all three genes late in the infection was observed with peptidoglycan treatment. Changes late in the parasite multiplication stage when mature spores would be released from ruptured host cells are less likely to have contributed to reduced spore production. Based on these results, it is concluded that feeding bees chitosan or peptidoglycan can reduce N. ceranae infection, which is at least partially related to altering the health of the bee by inducing immune and stress-related gene expression.
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Alciatore G, Ugelvig LV, Frank E, Bidaux J, Gal A, Schmitt T, Kronauer DJC, Ulrich Y. Immune challenges increase network centrality in a queenless ant. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211456. [PMID: 34493081 PMCID: PMC8424377 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Social animals display a wide range of behavioural defences against infectious diseases, some of which increase social contacts with infectious individuals (e.g. mutual grooming), while others decrease them (e.g. social exclusion). These defences often rely on the detection of infectious individuals, but this can be achieved in several ways that are difficult to differentiate. Here, we combine non-pathogenic immune challenges with automated tracking in colonies of the clonal raider ant to ask whether ants can detect the immune status of their social partners and to quantify their behavioural responses to this perceived infection risk. We first show that a key behavioural response elicited by live pathogens (allogrooming) can be qualitatively recapitulated by immune challenges alone. Automated scoring of interactions between all colony members reveals that this behavioural response increases the network centrality of immune-challenged individuals through a general increase in physical contacts. These results show that ants can detect the immune status of their nest-mates and respond with a general 'caring' strategy, rather than avoidance, towards social partners that are perceived to be infectious. Finally, we find no evidence that changes in cuticular hydrocarbon profiles drive these behavioural effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Alciatore
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETHZ Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Line V. Ugelvig
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Erik Frank
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Biocentre, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Jérémie Bidaux
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Asaf Gal
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Biocentre, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Daniel J. C. Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Yuko Ulrich
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Straße 8, 07745 Jena, Germany
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18
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Sagona S, Fronte B, Coppola F, Tafi E, Giusti M, Palego L, Betti L, Giannaccini G, Guglielminetti L, Felicioli A. Effect of Honey and Syrup Diets Enriched with 1,3-1,6 β-Glucans on Honeybee Survival Rate and Phenoloxidase Activity ( Apis mellifera L. 1758). Vet Sci 2021; 8:vetsci8070130. [PMID: 34357922 PMCID: PMC8310323 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci8070130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
β-glucans can activate the animal innate immune system by acting as immune-modulators and inducing various stimulatory effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 1,3-1,6 β-glucans administered orally for 96 h on Apis mellifera workers (newly emerged and nurse bees). β-glucans were included in honey and syrup. Survival rate and phenoloxidase activity were measured. In both newly emerged and nurse bees, β-glucans supplementation did not affect survival rate (p > 0.05). Conversely, phenoloxidase activity was higher in both newly emerged bees (p = 0.048) and nurse bees (p = 0.014) fed with a honey diet enriched with β-glucans compared to those fed with only honey. In both the newly emerged and nurse bees, no statistical differences in phenoloxidase activity were recorded between the group fed with a syrup-based diet enriched with β-glucans and the control group (p > 0.05). The absence of significant variation in survival suggests that the potential negative effect of β-glucans in healthy bees could be mitigated by their metabolism. Conversely, the inclusion of β-glucans in a honey-based diet determined an increase of phenoloxidase activity, suggesting that the effect of β-glucan inclusion in the diet of healthy bees on phenoloxidase activity could be linked to the type of base-diet. Further investigations on β-glucans metabolism in bees, on molecular mechanism of phenoloxidase activation by 1,3-1,6 β-glucans, and relative thresholds are desirable. Moreover, investigation on the combined action of honey and β-glucans on phenoloxidase activity are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Sagona
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (S.S.); (B.F.); (F.C.); (E.T.); (M.G.)
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (L.B.); (G.G.)
| | - Baldassare Fronte
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (S.S.); (B.F.); (F.C.); (E.T.); (M.G.)
| | - Francesca Coppola
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (S.S.); (B.F.); (F.C.); (E.T.); (M.G.)
| | - Elena Tafi
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (S.S.); (B.F.); (F.C.); (E.T.); (M.G.)
- Department of Science, University of the Study of Basilicata, Via dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy
| | - Matteo Giusti
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (S.S.); (B.F.); (F.C.); (E.T.); (M.G.)
| | - Lionella Palego
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Savi 10, 56126 Pisa, Italy;
| | - Laura Betti
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (L.B.); (G.G.)
| | - Gino Giannaccini
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (L.B.); (G.G.)
| | - Lorenzo Guglielminetti
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy;
| | - Antonio Felicioli
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (S.S.); (B.F.); (F.C.); (E.T.); (M.G.)
- Correspondence:
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19
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Quigley TP, Amdam GV. Social modulation of ageing: mechanisms, ecology, evolution. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20190738. [PMID: 33678020 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Human life expectancy increases, but the disease-free part of lifespan (healthspan) and the quality of life in old people may not show the same development. The situation poses considerable challenges to healthcare systems and economies, and calls for new strategies to increase healthspan and for sustainable future approaches to elder care. This call has motivated innovative research on the role of social relationships during ageing. Correlative data from clinical surveys indicate that social contact promotes healthy ageing, and it is time to reveal the causal mechanisms through experimental research. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a prolific model animal, but insects with more developed social behaviour can be equally instrumental for this research. Here, we discuss the role of social contact in ageing, and identify lines of study where diverse insect models can help uncover the mechanisms that are involved. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ageing and sociality: why, when and how does sociality change ageing patterns?'
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler P Quigley
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Gro V Amdam
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, PO Box 5002, N-1432 Aas, Norway
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20
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Honey robbing causes coordinated changes in foraging and nest defence in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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21
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Laomettachit T, Liangruksa M, Termsaithong T, Tangthanawatsakul A, Duangphakdee O. A model of infection in honeybee colonies with social immunity. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0247294. [PMID: 33617598 PMCID: PMC7899363 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) play a significant role in the pollination of various food crops and plants. In the past decades, honeybee management has been challenged with increased pathogen and environmental pressure associating with increased beekeeping costs, having a marked economic impact on the beekeeping industry. Pathogens have been identified as a contributing cause of colony losses. Evidence suggested a possible route of pathogen transmission among bees via oral-oral contacts through trophallaxis. Here we propose a model that describes the transmission of an infection within a colony when bee members engage in the trophallactic activity to distribute nectar. In addition, we examine two important features of social immunity, defined as collective disease defenses organized by honeybee society. First, our model considers the social segregation of worker bees. The segregation limits foragers, which are highly exposed to pathogens during foraging outside the nest, from interacting with bees residing in the inner parts of the nest. Second, our model includes a hygienic response, by which healthy nurse bees exterminate infected bees to mitigate horizontal transmission of the infection to other bee members. We propose that the social segregation forms the first line of defense in reducing the uptake of pathogens into the colony. If the first line of defense fails, the hygienic behavior provides a second mechanism in preventing disease spread. Our study identifies the rate of egg-laying as a critical factor in maintaining the colony's health against an infection. We propose that winter conditions which cease or reduce the egg-laying activity combined with an infection in early spring can compromise the social immunity defenses and potentially cause colony losses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teeraphan Laomettachit
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Program, School of Bioresources and Technology, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
- Theoretical and Computational Physics (TCP) Group, Center of Excellence in Theoretical and Computational Science Center (TaCS-CoE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Monrudee Liangruksa
- National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | - Teerasit Termsaithong
- Theoretical and Computational Physics (TCP) Group, Center of Excellence in Theoretical and Computational Science Center (TaCS-CoE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
- Learning Institute, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Anuwat Tangthanawatsakul
- Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Orawan Duangphakdee
- King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Ratchaburi Campus, Ratchaburi, Thailand
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22
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Borges S, Alkassab AT, Collison E, Hinarejos S, Jones B, McVey E, Roessink I, Steeger T, Sultan M, Wassenberg J. Overview of the testing and assessment of effects of microbial pesticides on bees: strengths, challenges and perspectives. APIDOLOGIE 2021; 52:1256-1277. [PMID: 36712810 PMCID: PMC9881582 DOI: 10.1007/s13592-021-00900-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Currently, there is a growing interest in developing biopesticides and increasing their share in the plant protection market as sustainable tools in integrated pest management (IPM). Therefore, it is important that regulatory requirements are consistent and thorough in consideration of biopesticides' unique properties. While microbial pesticides generally have a lower risk profile, they present special challenges in non-target organism testing and risk assessment since, in contrast to chemical pesticides, their modes of action include infectivity and pathogenicity rather than toxicity alone. For this reason, non-target organism testing guidelines designed for conventional chemical pesticides are not necessarily directly applicable to microbial pesticides. Many stakeholders have recognised the need for improvements in the guidance available for testing microbial pesticides with honey bees, particularly given the increasing interest in development and registration of microbial pesticides and concerns over risks to pollinators. This paper provides an overview of the challenges with testing and assessment of the effects of microbial pesticides on honey bees (Apis mellifera), which have served as a surrogate for both Apis and non-Apis bees, and provides a foundation toward developing improved testing methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon Borges
- Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Abdulrahim T Alkassab
- Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Bee Protection, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), Braunschweig, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Emily McVey
- Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides (Ctgb), Ede, The Netherlands
| | - Ivo Roessink
- Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas Steeger
- Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Jacoba Wassenberg
- Dutch Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides (Ctgb), Ede, The Netherlands
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23
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Effects of Synthetic Acaricides and Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) on Molecules Associated with Chemical Communication and Recognition in Honey Bees. Vet Sci 2020; 7:vetsci7040199. [PMID: 33302502 PMCID: PMC7768465 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci7040199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Acaricides and the gut parasite Nosema ceranae are commonly present in most productive hives. Those stressors could be affecting key semiochemicals, which act as homeostasis regulators in Apis mellifera colonies, such as cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) involved in social recognition and ethyl oleate (EO) which plays a role as primer pheromone in honey bees. Here we test the effect of amitraz, coumaphos, tau-fluvalinate and flumethrin, commonly applied to treat varroosis, on honey bee survival time, rate of food consumption, CHC profiles and EO production on N. ceranae-infected and non-infected honey bees. Different sublethal concentrations of amitraz, coumaphos, tau-fluvalinate and flumethrin were administered chronically in a syrup-based diet. After treatment, purified hole-body extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. While N. ceranae infection was also shown to decrease EO production affecting survival rates, acaricides showed no significant effect on this pheromone. As for the CHC, we found no changes in relation to the health status or consumption of acaricides. This absence of alteration in EO or CHC as response to acaricides ingestion or in combination with N. ceranae, suggests that worker honey bees exposed to those highly ubiquitous drugs are hardly differentiated by nest-mates. Having determined a synergic effect on mortality in worker bees exposed to coumaphos and Nosema infection but also, alterations in EO production as a response to N. ceranae infection it is an interesting clue to deeper understand the effects of parasite-host-pesticide interaction on colony functioning.
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Sheehan G, Farrell G, Kavanagh K. Immune priming: the secret weapon of the insect world. Virulence 2020; 11:238-246. [PMID: 32079502 PMCID: PMC7051127 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2020.1731137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Insects are a highly successful group of animals that inhabit almost every habitat and environment on Earth. Part of their success is due to a rapid and highly effective immune response that identifies, inactivates, and eliminates pathogens. Insects possess an immune system that shows many similarities to the innate immune system of vertebrates, but they do not possess an equivalent system to the antibody-mediated adaptive immune response of vertebrates. However, some insect do display a process known as immune priming in which prior exposure to a sublethal dose of a pathogen, or pathogen-derived material, leads to an elevation in the immune response rendering the insect resistant to a subsequent lethal infection a short time later. This process is mediated by an increase in the density of circulating hemocytes and increased production of antimicrobial peptides. Immune priming is an important survival strategy for certain insects while other insects that do not show this response may have colony-level behaviors that may serve to limit the success of pathogens. Insects are now widely used as in vivo models for studying microbial pathogens of humans and for assessing the in vivo efficacy of antimicrobial agents. Knowledge of the process of immune priming in insects is essential in these applications as it may operate and augment the perceived in vivo antimicrobial activity of novel compounds.Abbreviations: 1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-diphenyl-imidazol-2-ylidene silver(I) acetate; SBC3: antimicrobial peptides; AMPs: dorsal-related immunity factor; DIF: Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule; Dscam: Lipopolysaccharide; LPS: Pathogen-associated molecular patterns; PAMPS: Patterns recognition receptors; PRR: Prophenoloxidase; PO: Toll-like receptors; TLRs: Toll/IL-1R; TIR, Transgenerational Immune Priming; TgIP: Tumor necrosis factor-α; TNF-α.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerard Sheehan
- Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland
| | - Gemma Farrell
- Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland
| | - Kevin Kavanagh
- Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland
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Parasite defense mechanisms in bees: behavior, immunity, antimicrobials, and symbionts. Emerg Top Life Sci 2020; 4:59-76. [PMID: 32558901 DOI: 10.1042/etls20190069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Parasites are linked to the decline of some bee populations; thus, understanding defense mechanisms has important implications for bee health. Recent advances have improved our understanding of factors mediating bee health ranging from molecular to landscape scales, but often as disparate literatures. Here, we bring together these fields and summarize our current understanding of bee defense mechanisms including immunity, immunization, and transgenerational immune priming in social and solitary species. Additionally, the characterization of microbial diversity and function in some bee taxa has shed light on the importance of microbes for bee health, but we lack information that links microbial communities to parasite infection in most bee species. Studies are beginning to identify how bee defense mechanisms are affected by stressors such as poor-quality diets and pesticides, but further research on this topic is needed. We discuss how integrating research on host traits, microbial partners, and nutrition, as well as improving our knowledge base on wild and semi-social bees, will help inform future research, conservation efforts, and management.
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Honey bee aggression: evaluating causal links to disease-resistance traits and infection. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02887-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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Gábor E, Cinege G, Csordás G, Rusvai M, Honti V, Kolics B, Török T, Williams MJ, Kurucz É, Andó I. Identification of reference markers for characterizing honey bee (Apis mellifera) hemocyte classes. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2020; 109:103701. [PMID: 32320738 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2020.103701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cell mediated immunity of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) involves the activity of several hemocyte populations, currently defined by morphological features and lectin binding characteristics. The objective of the present study was to identify molecular markers capable of characterizing subsets of honey bee hemocytes. We developed and employed monoclonal antibodies with restricted reactions to functionally distinct hemocyte subpopulations. Melanizing cells, known as oenocytoids, were defined by an antibody to prophenoloxidase, aggregating cells were identified by the expression of Hemolectin, and phagocytic cells were identified by a marker expressed on granulocytes. We anticipate that this combination of antibodies not only allows for the detection of functionally distinct hemocyte subtypes, but will help to further the exploration of hematopoietic compartments, as well as reveal details of the honey bee cellular immune defense against parasites and microbes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Gábor
- Immunology Unit, Institute of Genetics, Biological Research Centre, P.O.Box 521, Szeged, H-6701, Hungary.
| | - Gyöngyi Cinege
- Immunology Unit, Institute of Genetics, Biological Research Centre, P.O.Box 521, Szeged, H-6701, Hungary.
| | - Gábor Csordás
- Immunology Unit, Institute of Genetics, Biological Research Centre, P.O.Box 521, Szeged, H-6701, Hungary.
| | - Miklós Rusvai
- University of Veterinary Medicine, 1078, Budapest, István u. 2., Hungary.
| | - Viktor Honti
- Immunology Unit, Institute of Genetics, Biological Research Centre, P.O.Box 521, Szeged, H-6701, Hungary.
| | - Balázs Kolics
- Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, University of Pannonia, Georgikon Faculty, Deák F. u. 16., 8360, Keszthely, Hungary.
| | - Tibor Török
- Department of Genetics, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, 6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - Michael J Williams
- Functional Pharmacology, Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, Box 593, 751 24, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Éva Kurucz
- Immunology Unit, Institute of Genetics, Biological Research Centre, P.O.Box 521, Szeged, H-6701, Hungary.
| | - István Andó
- Immunology Unit, Institute of Genetics, Biological Research Centre, P.O.Box 521, Szeged, H-6701, Hungary.
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Pull CD, McMahon DP. Superorganism Immunity: A Major Transition in Immune System Evolution. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
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Cini A, Bordoni A, Cappa F, Petrocelli I, Pitzalis M, Iovinella I, Dani FR, Turillazzi S, Cervo R. Increased immunocompetence and network centrality of allogroomer workers suggest a link between individual and social immunity in honeybees. Sci Rep 2020; 10:8928. [PMID: 32488140 PMCID: PMC7265547 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-65780-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The significant risk of disease transmission has selected for effective immune-defense strategies in insect societies. Division of labour, with individuals specialized in immunity-related tasks, strongly contributes to prevent the spread of diseases. A trade-off, however, may exist between phenotypic specialization to increase task efficiency and maintenance of plasticity to cope with variable colony demands. We investigated the extent of phenotypic specialization associated with a specific task by using allogrooming in the honeybee, Apis mellifera, where worker behaviour might lower ectoparasites load. We adopted an integrated approach to characterize the behavioural and physiological phenotype of allogroomers, by analyzing their behavior (both at individual and social network level), their immunocompetence (bacterial clearance tests) and their chemosensory specialization (proteomics of olfactory organs). We found that allogroomers have higher immune capacity compared to control bees, while they do not differ in chemosensory proteomic profiles. Behaviourally, they do not show differences in the tasks performed (other than allogrooming), while they clearly differ in connectivity within the colonial social network, having a higher centrality than control bees. This demonstrates the presence of an immune-specific physiological and social behavioural specialization in individuals involved in a social immunity related task, thus linking individual to social immunity, and it shows how phenotypes may be specialized in the task performed while maintaining an overall plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Cini
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy.
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Adele Bordoni
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Federico Cappa
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Iacopo Petrocelli
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Martina Pitzalis
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Immacolata Iovinella
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Francesca Romana Dani
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
- CISM, Mass Spectrometry Centre, Università di Firenze, Via U. Schiff 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Stefano Turillazzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Rita Cervo
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
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Honey bee virus causes context-dependent changes in host social behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:10406-10413. [PMID: 32341145 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2002268117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic changes create evolutionarily novel environments that present opportunities for emerging diseases, potentially changing the balance between host and pathogen. Honey bees provide essential pollination services, but intensification and globalization of honey bee management has coincided with increased pathogen pressure, primarily due to a parasitic mite/virus complex. Here, we investigated how honey bee individual and group phenotypes are altered by a virus of concern, Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV). Using automated and manual behavioral monitoring of IAPV-inoculated individuals, we find evidence for pathogen manipulation of worker behavior by IAPV, and reveal that this effect depends on social context; that is, within versus between colony interactions. Experimental inoculation reduced social contacts between honey bee colony members, suggesting an adaptive host social immune response to diminish transmission. Parallel analyses with double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-immunostimulated bees revealed these behaviors are part of a generalized social immune defensive response. Conversely, inoculated bees presented to groups of bees from other colonies experienced reduced aggression compared with dsRNA-immunostimulated bees, facilitating entry into susceptible colonies. This reduction was associated with a shift in cuticular hydrocarbons, the chemical signatures used by bees to discriminate colony members from intruders. These responses were specific to IAPV infection, suggestive of pathogen manipulation of the host. Emerging bee pathogens may thus shape host phenotypes to increase transmission, a strategy especially well-suited to the unnaturally high colony densities of modern apiculture. These findings demonstrate how anthropogenic changes could affect arms races between human-managed hosts and their pathogens to potentially affect global food security.
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Pereira H, Detrain C. Pathogen avoidance and prey discrimination in ants. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:191705. [PMID: 32257330 PMCID: PMC7062100 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Insect societies have developed sanitary strategies, one of which is the avoidance of infectious food resources as a primary line of defence. Using binary choices, we investigated whether Myrmica rubra ants can identify prey that has been artificially infected with the entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium brunneum. We compared the ants' foraging behaviour towards infected prey at three different stages of fungus development: (i) prey covered with fungal conidia, (ii) prey freshly killed by the fungus and (iii) sporulating prey. Most foragers retrieved a corpse covered with a high number of spores but they consistently avoided a sporulating prey and collected less prey that had recently died from fungal infection. Furthermore, ant responses were highly variable, with some individuals retrieving the first prey they encountered while others inspected both available prey before making a decision. Workers were not repelled by the simple presence of fungal conidia but nevertheless, they avoided retrieving cadavers at later stages of fungal infection. We discuss how these different avoidance responses could be related to: differences in the ants' perceptive abilities; physico-chemical cues characterizing fungus-infected prey or in the existence of physiological or behavioural defences that limit sanitary risks associated with potentially contaminated resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Pereira
- Unit of Social Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 231, Boulevard du Triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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Rittschof CC, Rubin BER, Palmer JH. The transcriptomic signature of low aggression in honey bees resembles a response to infection. BMC Genomics 2019; 20:1029. [PMID: 31888487 PMCID: PMC6937707 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-019-6417-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Behavior reflects an organism's health status. Many organisms display a generalized suite of behaviors that indicate infection or predict infection susceptibility. We apply this concept to honey bee aggression, a behavior that has been associated with positive health outcomes in previous studies. We sequenced the transcriptomes of the brain, fat body, and midgut of adult sibling worker bees who developed as pre-adults in relatively high versus low aggression colonies. Previous studies showed that this pre-adult experience impacts both aggressive behavior and resilience to pesticides. We performed enrichment analyses on differentially expressed genes to determine whether variation in aggression resembles the molecular response to infection. We further assessed whether the transcriptomic signature of aggression in the brain is similar to the neuromolecular response to acute predator threat, exposure to a high-aggression environment as an adult, or adult behavioral maturation. RESULTS Across all three tissues assessed, genes that are differentially expressed as a function of aggression significantly overlap with genes whose expression is modulated by a variety of pathogens and parasitic feeding. In the fat body, and to some degree the midgut, our data specifically support the hypothesis that low aggression resembles a diseased or parasitized state. However, we find little evidence of active infection in individuals from the low aggression group. We also find little evidence that the brain molecular signature of aggression is enriched for genes modulated by social cues that induce aggression in adults. However, we do find evidence that genes associated with adult behavioral maturation are enriched in our brain samples. CONCLUSIONS Results support the hypothesis that low aggression resembles a molecular state of infection. This pattern is most robust in the peripheral fat body, an immune responsive tissue in the honey bee. We find no evidence of acute infection in bees from the low aggression group, suggesting the physiological state characterizing low aggression may instead predispose bees to negative health outcomes when they are exposed to additional stressors. The similarity of molecular signatures associated with the seemingly disparate traits of aggression and disease suggests that these characteristics may, in fact, be intimately tied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare C Rittschof
- University of Kentucky, S-225 Agricultural Science Center North, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA.
| | - Benjamin E R Rubin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Joseph H Palmer
- Kentucky State University, 400 E. Main St., Frankfort, KY, 40601, USA
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Negri P, Villalobos E, Szawarski N, Damiani N, Gende L, Garrido M, Maggi M, Quintana S, Lamattina L, Eguaras M. Towards Precision Nutrition: A Novel Concept Linking Phytochemicals, Immune Response and Honey Bee Health. INSECTS 2019; 10:E401. [PMID: 31726686 PMCID: PMC6920938 DOI: 10.3390/insects10110401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 11/02/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The high annual losses of managed honey bees (Apis mellifera) has attracted intensive attention, and scientists have dedicated much effort trying to identify the stresses affecting bees. There are, however, no simple answers; rather, research suggests multifactorial effects. Several works have been reported highlighting the relationship between bees' immunosuppression and the effects of malnutrition, parasites, pathogens, agrochemical and beekeeping pesticides exposure, forage dearth and cold stress. Here we analyze a possible connection between immunity-related signaling pathways that could be involved in the response to the stress resulted from Varroa-virus association and cold stress during winter. The analysis was made understanding the honey bee as a superorganism, where individuals are integrated and interacting within the colony, going from social to individual immune responses. We propose the term "Precision Nutrition" as a way to think and study bees' nutrition in the search for key molecules which would be able to strengthen colonies' responses to any or all of those stresses combined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Negri
- Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales (CIAS), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Deán Funes 3350, Mar del Plata CP 7600, Argentina; (N.S.); (N.D.); (L.G.); (M.G.); (M.M.); (S.Q.); (M.E.)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, Buenos Aires C1425FQB, Argentina;
| | - Ethel Villalobos
- Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 3050 Maile Way, 310 Gilmore Hall, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA;
| | - Nicolás Szawarski
- Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales (CIAS), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Deán Funes 3350, Mar del Plata CP 7600, Argentina; (N.S.); (N.D.); (L.G.); (M.G.); (M.M.); (S.Q.); (M.E.)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, Buenos Aires C1425FQB, Argentina;
| | - Natalia Damiani
- Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales (CIAS), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Deán Funes 3350, Mar del Plata CP 7600, Argentina; (N.S.); (N.D.); (L.G.); (M.G.); (M.M.); (S.Q.); (M.E.)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, Buenos Aires C1425FQB, Argentina;
| | - Liesel Gende
- Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales (CIAS), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Deán Funes 3350, Mar del Plata CP 7600, Argentina; (N.S.); (N.D.); (L.G.); (M.G.); (M.M.); (S.Q.); (M.E.)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, Buenos Aires C1425FQB, Argentina;
| | - Melisa Garrido
- Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales (CIAS), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Deán Funes 3350, Mar del Plata CP 7600, Argentina; (N.S.); (N.D.); (L.G.); (M.G.); (M.M.); (S.Q.); (M.E.)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, Buenos Aires C1425FQB, Argentina;
| | - Matías Maggi
- Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales (CIAS), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Deán Funes 3350, Mar del Plata CP 7600, Argentina; (N.S.); (N.D.); (L.G.); (M.G.); (M.M.); (S.Q.); (M.E.)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, Buenos Aires C1425FQB, Argentina;
| | - Silvina Quintana
- Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales (CIAS), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Deán Funes 3350, Mar del Plata CP 7600, Argentina; (N.S.); (N.D.); (L.G.); (M.G.); (M.M.); (S.Q.); (M.E.)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, Buenos Aires C1425FQB, Argentina;
| | - Lorenzo Lamattina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, Buenos Aires C1425FQB, Argentina;
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas (IIB-CONICET), UNMdP, Dean Funes 3350, Mar del Plata CP 7600, Argentina
| | - Martin Eguaras
- Centro de Investigación en Abejas Sociales (CIAS), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Deán Funes 3350, Mar del Plata CP 7600, Argentina; (N.S.); (N.D.); (L.G.); (M.G.); (M.M.); (S.Q.); (M.E.)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, Buenos Aires C1425FQB, Argentina;
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López-Uribe MM, Ricigliano VA, Simone-Finstrom M. Defining Pollinator Health: A Holistic Approach Based on Ecological, Genetic, and Physiological Factors. Annu Rev Anim Biosci 2019; 8:269-294. [PMID: 31618045 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-animal-020518-115045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Evidence for global bee population declines has catalyzed a rapidly evolving area of research that aims to identify the causal factors and to effectively assess the status of pollinator populations. The term pollinator health emerged through efforts to understand causes of bee decline and colony losses, but it lacks a formal definition. In this review, we propose a definition for pollinator health and synthesize the available literature on the application of standardized biomarkers to assess health at the individual, colony, and population levels. We focus on biomarkers in honey bees, a model species, but extrapolate the potential application of these approaches to monitor the health status of wild bee populations. Biomarker-guided health measures can inform beekeeper management decisions, wild bee conservation efforts, and environmental policies. We conclude by addressing challenges to pollinator health from a One Health perspective that emphasizes the interplay between environmental quality and human, animal, and bee health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margarita M López-Uribe
- Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA;
| | - Vincent A Ricigliano
- Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research, USDA-ARS, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70820, USA; ,
| | - Michael Simone-Finstrom
- Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research, USDA-ARS, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70820, USA; ,
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Harrison JW, Palmer JH, Rittschof CC. Altering social cue perception impacts honey bee aggression with minimal impacts on aggression-related brain gene expression. Sci Rep 2019; 9:14642. [PMID: 31601943 PMCID: PMC6787081 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51223-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene expression changes resulting from social interactions may give rise to long term behavioral change, or simply reflect the activity of neural circuitry associated with behavioral expression. In honey bees, social cues broadly modulate aggressive behavior and brain gene expression. Previous studies suggest that expression changes are limited to contexts in which social cues give rise to stable, relatively long-term changes in behavior. Here we use a traditional beekeeping approach that inhibits aggression, smoke exposure, to deprive individuals of aggression-inducing olfactory cues and evaluate whether behavioral changes occur in absence of expression variation in a set of four biomarker genes (drat, cyp6g1/2, GB53860, inos) associated with aggression in previous studies. We also evaluate two markers of a brain hypoxic response (hif1α, hsf) to determine whether smoke induces molecular changes at all. We find that bees with blocked sensory perception as a result of smoke exposure show a strong, temporary inhibition of aggression relative to bees allowed to perceive normal social cues. However, blocking sensory perception had minimal impacts on aggression-relevant gene expression, althought it did induce a hypoxic molecular response in the brain. Results suggest that certain genes differentiate social cue-induced changes in aggression from long-term modulation of this phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W Harrison
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S-225 Agricultural Science Center North, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA
| | - Joseph H Palmer
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S-225 Agricultural Science Center North, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA
- College of Agriculture, Communities, and the Environment, Kentucky State University, 400 E. Main St., Frankfort, KY, 40601, USA
| | - Clare C Rittschof
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S-225 Agricultural Science Center North, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA.
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Wagoner K, Spivak M, Hefetz A, Reams T, Rueppell O. Stock-specific chemical brood signals are induced by Varroa and Deformed Wing Virus, and elicit hygienic response in the honey bee. Sci Rep 2019; 9:8753. [PMID: 31217481 PMCID: PMC6584651 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45008-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Accepted: 05/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The health of the honey bee Apis mellifera is challenged by the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, and the numerous harmful pathogens it vectors. Existing pesticide-based Varroa controls are not sustainable. In contrast, one promising approach for improved honey bee health is the breeding of hygienic bees, capable of detecting and removing brood that is parasitized or diseased. In three experiments we find evidence to support the hypothesis that stock-specific chemical brood signals are induced by Varroa and Deformed Wing Virus, and elicit hygienic response in the honey bee. By collecting, analyzing, and running bioassays involving mite-infested and control brood extracts from three honey bee breeding stocks we: 1) found evidence that a transferrable chemical signal for hygienic behavior is present in Varroa-infested brood extracts, 2) identified ten stock-specific hydrocarbons as candidates of hygienic signaling, and 3) found that two of these hydrocarbons linked to Varroa and DWV were also elevated in brood targeted for hygienic behavior. These findings expand our understanding of honey bee chemical communication, and facilitate the development of improved hygienic selection tools to breed honey bees with greater resistance to Varroa and associated pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Wagoner
- Biology Department, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, USA.
| | - M Spivak
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
| | - A Hefetz
- George S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - T Reams
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
| | - O Rueppell
- Biology Department, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, USA
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Liu L, Zhao XY, Tang QB, Lei CL, Huang QY. The Mechanisms of Social Immunity Against Fungal Infections in Eusocial Insects. Toxins (Basel) 2019; 11:E244. [PMID: 31035652 PMCID: PMC6563085 DOI: 10.3390/toxins11050244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Entomopathogenic fungus as well as their toxins is a natural threat surrounding social insect colonies. To defend against them, social insects have evolved a series of unique disease defenses at the colony level, which consists of behavioral and physiological adaptations. These colony-level defenses can reduce the infection and poisoning risk and improve the survival of societal members, and is known as social immunity. In this review, we discuss how social immunity enables the insect colony to avoid, resist and tolerate fungal pathogens. To understand the molecular basis of social immunity, we highlight several genetic elements and biochemical factors that drive the colony-level defense, which needs further verification. We discuss the chemosensory genes in regulating social behaviors, the antifungal secretions such as some insect venoms in external defense and the immune priming in internal defense. To conclude, we show the possible driving force of the fungal toxins for the evolution of social immunity. Throughout the review, we propose several questions involved in social immunity extended from some phenomena that have been reported. We hope our review about social 'host-fungal pathogen' interactions will help us further understand the mechanism of social immunity in eusocial insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Liu
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
- Plant Protection College, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
| | - Xing-Ying Zhao
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
| | - Qing-Bo Tang
- Plant Protection College, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
| | - Chao-Liang Lei
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
| | - Qiu-Ying Huang
- Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
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39
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Teseo S, van Zweden JS, Pontieri L, Kooij PW, Sørensen SJ, Wenseleers T, Poulsen M, Boomsma JJ, Sapountzis P. The scent of symbiosis: gut bacteria may affect social interactions in leaf-cutting ants. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.12.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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40
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Cappa F, Petrocelli I, Dani FR, Dapporto L, Giovannini M, Silva-Castellari J, Turillazzi S, Cervo R. Natural biocide disrupts nestmate recognition in honeybees. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3171. [PMID: 30816211 PMCID: PMC6395671 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38963-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Honeybee colonies are under the threat of many stressors, biotic and abiotic factors that strongly affect their survival. Recently, great attention has been directed at chemical pesticides, including their effects at sub-lethal doses on bee behaviour and colony success; whereas the potential side effects of natural biocides largely used in agriculture, such as entomopathogenic fungi, have received only marginal attention. Here, we report the impact of the fungus Beauveria bassiana on honeybee nestmate recognition ability, a crucial feature at the basis of colony integrity. We performed both behavioural assays by recording bee guards’ response towards foragers (nestmate or non-nestmate) either exposed to B. bassiana or unexposed presented at the hive entrance, and GC-MS analyses of the cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) of fungus-exposed versus unexposed bees. Our results demonstrated that exposed bees have altered cuticular hydrocarbons and are more easily accepted into foreign colonies than controls. Since CHCs are the main recognition cues in social insects, changes in their composition appear to affect nestmate recognition ability at the colony level. The acceptance of chemically unrecognizable fungus-exposed foragers could therefore favour forager drift and disease spread across colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Cappa
- Università degli studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Biologia, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy.
| | - Iacopo Petrocelli
- Università degli studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Biologia, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Francesca Romana Dani
- Università degli studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Biologia, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Leonardo Dapporto
- Università degli studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Biologia, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Michele Giovannini
- Università degli studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Biologia, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Jeferson Silva-Castellari
- Università degli studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Biologia, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Stefano Turillazzi
- Università degli studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Biologia, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
| | - Rita Cervo
- Università degli studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Biologia, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy
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41
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Vernier CL, Krupp JJ, Marcus K, Hefetz A, Levine JD, Ben-Shahar Y. The cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of honey bee workers develop via a socially-modulated innate process. eLife 2019; 8:41855. [PMID: 30720428 PMCID: PMC6382352 DOI: 10.7554/elife.41855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Large social insect colonies exhibit a remarkable ability for recognizing group members via colony-specific cuticular pheromonal signatures. Previous work suggested that in some ant species, colony-specific pheromonal profiles are generated through a mechanism involving the transfer and homogenization of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) across members of the colony. However, how colony-specific chemical profiles are generated in other social insect clades remains mostly unknown. Here we show that in the honey bee (Apis mellifera), the colony-specific CHC profile completes its maturation in foragers via a sequence of stereotypic age-dependent quantitative and qualitative chemical transitions, which are driven by environmentally-sensitive intrinsic biosynthetic pathways. Therefore, the CHC profiles of individual honey bees are not likely produced through homogenization and transfer mechanisms, but instead mature in association with age-dependent division of labor. Furthermore, non-nestmate rejection behaviors seem to be contextually restricted to behavioral interactions between entering foragers and guards at the hive entrance. Honey bees are social insects that live in large groups called colonies, within structures known as hives. The young adult bees stay within the hive to build nests and care for the young, while the older bees leave the hive to forage for food. Honey bees store food and other valuable resources in their hives, so they are often targeted by predators, parasites and ‘robber’ bees from other colonies. Therefore, it is important for bees to determine whether individuals trying to enter the nest are group members or intruders. While it is known that social insects use blends of waxy chemicals called cuticular hydrocarbons to identify group members at the entrance to the colony, it is not clear how members of the same colony acquire a similar blend of cuticular hydrocarbons. Some previous work suggested that in some ant species (which are also social insects), colony members exchange cuticular hydrocarbons with each other so that all members of the colony are covered with a similar blend of chemicals. However, it was not known whether honey bees also share cuticular hydrocarbons between colony members in order to identify members of a hive. Vernier et al. used chemical, molecular and behavioral approaches to study the cuticular hydrocarbons found on honey bees. The results show that, rather than exchanging chemicals with other members of their colony, individual bees make their own blends of cuticular hydrocarbons. As a bee ages it makes different blends of cuticular hydrocarbons, and by the time it starts to leave the hive to forage it makes a blend that is specific to the colony it belongs to. The production of this final blend is influenced by the environment within the hive. Thus, the findings of Vernier et al. indicate that honey bees guarding the entrance to a hive can only identify non-colony-member forager bees as intruders, rather than any non-colony-member bee that happens upon the hive entrance. Honey bees play an essential role in pollinating many crop plants so understanding how these insects maintain their social groups may help to improve agriculture in the future. Furthermore, this work may aid our understanding of how other social insects interact in a variety of biological situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassondra L Vernier
- Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, United States
| | - Joshua J Krupp
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada
| | - Katelyn Marcus
- Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, United States
| | - Abraham Hefetz
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Joel D Levine
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada
| | - Yehuda Ben-Shahar
- Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, United States
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42
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Amiri E, Seddon G, Zuluaga Smith W, Strand MK, Tarpy DR, Rueppell O. Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus: Honey Bee Queen⁻Worker Interaction and Potential Virus Transmission Pathways. INSECTS 2019; 10:E9. [PMID: 30626038 PMCID: PMC6359674 DOI: 10.3390/insects10010009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Revised: 08/14/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Queen loss or failure is an important cause of honey bee colony loss. A functional queen is essential to a colony, and the queen is predicted to be well protected by worker bees and other mechanisms of social immunity. Nevertheless, several honey bee pathogens (including viruses) can infect queens. Here, we report a series of experiments to test how virus infection influences queen⁻worker interactions and the consequences for virus transmission. We used Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) as an experimental pathogen because it is relevant to bee health but is not omnipresent. Queens were observed spending 50% of their time with healthy workers, 32% with infected workers, and 18% without interaction. However, the overall bias toward healthy workers was not statistically significant, and there was considerable individual to individual variability. We found that physical contact between infected workers and queens leads to high queen infection in some cases, suggesting that IAPV infections also spread through close bodily contact. Across experiments, queens exhibited lower IAPV titers than surrounding workers. Thus, our results indicate that honey bee queens are better protected by individual and social immunity, but this protection is insufficient to prevent IAPV infections completely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmaeil Amiri
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA.
- Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7613, USA.
| | - Gregory Seddon
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA.
| | - Wendy Zuluaga Smith
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA.
| | - Micheline K Strand
- Life Science Division, U.S. Army Research Office, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709-2211, USA.
| | - David R Tarpy
- Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7613, USA.
| | - Olav Rueppell
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA.
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43
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Frank ET, Wehrhahn M, Linsenmair KE. Wound treatment and selective help in a termite-hunting ant. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 285:rspb.2017.2457. [PMID: 29445019 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 01/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Open wounds are a major health risk in animals, with species prone to injuries likely developing means to reduce these risks. We therefore analysed the behavioural response towards open wounds on the social and individual level in the termite group-hunting ant Megaponera analis During termite raids, some ants get injured by termite soldiers (biting off extremities), after the fight injured ants get carried back to the nest by nest-mates. We observed treatment of the injury by nest-mates inside the nest through intense allogrooming at the wound. Lack of treatment increased mortality from 10% to 80% within 24 h, most likely due to infections. Wound clotting occurred extraordinarily fast in untreated injured individuals, within 10 min. Furthermore, heavily injured ants (loss of five extremities) were not rescued or treated; this was regulated not by the helper but by the unresponsiveness of the injured ant. Interestingly, lightly injured ants behaved 'more injured' near nest-mates. We show organized social wound treatment in insects through a multifaceted help system focused on injured individuals. This was not only limited to selective rescuing of lightly injured individuals by carrying them back (thus reducing predation risk), but, moreover, included a differentiated treatment inside the nest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik T Frank
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Marten Wehrhahn
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - K Eduard Linsenmair
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
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44
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Termites shape their collective behavioural response based on stage of infection. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14433. [PMID: 30258216 PMCID: PMC6158180 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32721-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Social insects employ a range of behaviours to protect their colonies against disease, but little is known about how such collective behaviours are orchestrated. This is especially true for the social Blattodea (termites). We developed an experimental approach that allowed us to explore how the social response to disease is co-ordinated by multistep host-pathogen interactions. We infected the eastern subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes with the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae, and then, at different stages of infection, reintroduced them to healthy nestmates and recorded behavioural responses. As expected, termites groomed pathogen-exposed individuals significantly more than controls; however, grooming was significantly elevated after fungal germination than before, demonstrating the importance of fungal status to hygienic behaviour. Significantly, we found that cannibalism became prevalent only after exposed termites became visibly ill, highlighting the importance of host condition as a cue for social hygienic behaviour. Our study reveals the presence of a coordinated social response to disease that depends on stage of infection. Specifically, we show how the host may play a key role in triggering its own sacrifice. Sacrificial self-flagging has been observed in other social insects: our results demonstrate that termites have independently evolved to both recognize and destructively respond to sickness.
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45
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Pinter-Wollman N, Jelić A, Wells NM. The impact of the built environment on health behaviours and disease transmission in social systems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170245. [PMID: 29967306 PMCID: PMC6030577 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The environment plays an important role in disease dynamics and in determining the health of individuals. Specifically, the built environment has a large impact on the prevention and containment of both chronic and infectious disease in humans and in non-human animals. The effects of the built environment on health can be direct, for example, by influencing environmental quality, or indirect by influencing behaviours that impact disease transmission and health. Furthermore, these impacts can happen at many scales, from the individual to the society, and from the design of the plates we eat from to the design of cities. In this paper, we review the ways that the built environment affects both the prevention and the containment of chronic and infectious disease. We bring examples from both human and animal societies and attempt to identify parallels and gaps between the study of humans and animals that can be capitalized on to advance the scope and perspective of research in each respective field. By consolidating this literature, we hope to highlight the importance of built structures in determining the complex dynamics of disease and in impacting the health behaviours of both humans and animals.This article is part of the theme issue 'Interdisciplinary approaches for uncovering the impacts of architecture on collective behaviour'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noa Pinter-Wollman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Andrea Jelić
- Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology, Aalborg University, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Nancy M Wells
- Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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46
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Turner J, Hughes WOH. The effect of parasitism on personality in a social insect. Behav Processes 2018; 157:532-539. [PMID: 29898416 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Revised: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Individuals are known to differ consistently in various aspects of their behaviour in many animal species, a phenomenon that has come to be referred to as animal personalities. These individual differences are likely to have evolutionary and ecological significance, and it is therefore important to understand the precise nature of how environmental and physiological factors affect animal personalities. One factor which may affect personality is disease, but while the effects of disease on many aspects of host behaviour are well known, the effects on animal personalities have been little studied. Here we show that wood ants, Formica rufa, exhibit consistent individual differences in three personality traits: boldness, sociability and aggressiveness. However, experimental exposure to a virulent fungal parasite, Metarhizium pingshaense, had surprisingly little effect on the personality traits. Parasite-challenged ants showed marginal changes in sociability at high doses of parasite but no change in boldness or aggressiveness even when close to death. There was similarly little effect of other physiological stresses on ant personalities. The results suggest that individual personality in ants can be remarkably resilient to physiological stress, such as that caused by parasite infection. Future studies are needed to determine whether there is a similar resilience in solitary animals, as well as in other social species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joe Turner
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK.
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47
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Li G, Zhao H, Liu Z, Wang H, Xu B, Guo X. The Wisdom of Honeybee Defenses Against Environmental Stresses. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:722. [PMID: 29765357 PMCID: PMC5938604 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
As one of the predominant pollinator, honeybees provide important ecosystem service to crops and wild plants, and generate great economic benefit for humans. Unfortunately, there is clear evidence of recent catastrophic honeybee colony failure in some areas, resulting in markedly negative environmental and economic effects. It has been demonstrated that various environmental stresses, including both abiotic and biotic stresses, functioning singly or synergistically, are the potential drivers of colony collapse. Honeybees can use many defense mechanisms to decrease the damage from environmental stress to some extent. Here, we synthesize and summarize recent advances regarding the effects of environmental stress on honeybees and the wisdom of honeybees to respond to external environmental stress. Furthermore, we provide possible future research directions about the response of honeybees to various form of stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China
| | - Hang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China
| | - Zhenguo Liu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China
| | - Hongfang Wang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China
| | - Baohua Xu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China
| | - Xingqi Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China
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48
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Pull CD, Ugelvig LV, Wiesenhofer F, Grasse AV, Tragust S, Schmitt T, Brown MJF, Cremer S. Destructive disinfection of infected brood prevents systemic disease spread in ant colonies. eLife 2018; 7:e32073. [PMID: 29310753 PMCID: PMC5760203 DOI: 10.7554/elife.32073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
In social groups, infections have the potential to spread rapidly and cause disease outbreaks. Here, we show that in a social insect, the ant Lasius neglectus, the negative consequences of fungal infections (Metarhizium brunneum) can be mitigated by employing an efficient multicomponent behaviour, termed destructive disinfection, which prevents further spread of the disease through the colony. Ants specifically target infected pupae during the pathogen's non-contagious incubation period, utilising chemical 'sickness cues' emitted by pupae. They then remove the pupal cocoon, perforate its cuticle and administer antimicrobial poison, which enters the body and prevents pathogen replication from the inside out. Like the immune system of a metazoan body that specifically targets and eliminates infected cells, ants destroy infected brood to stop the pathogen completing its lifecycle, thus protecting the rest of the colony. Hence, in an analogous fashion, the same principles of disease defence apply at different levels of biological organisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher D Pull
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
| | - Line V Ugelvig
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
| | - Florian Wiesenhofer
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
| | - Anna V Grasse
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
| | - Simon Tragust
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
- Evolution, Genetics and BehaviourUniversity of RegensburgRegensburgGermany
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Mark JF Brown
- School of Biological SciencesRoyal Holloway University of LondonEghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)KlosterneuburgAustria
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49
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Cremer S, Pull CD, Fürst MA. Social Immunity: Emergence and Evolution of Colony-Level Disease Protection. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2018; 63:105-123. [PMID: 28945976 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Social insect colonies have evolved many collectively performed adaptations that reduce the impact of infectious disease and that are expected to maximize their fitness. This colony-level protection is termed social immunity, and it enhances the health and survival of the colony. In this review, we address how social immunity emerges from its mechanistic components to produce colony-level disease avoidance, resistance, and tolerance. To understand the evolutionary causes and consequences of social immunity, we highlight the need for studies that evaluate the effects of social immunity on colony fitness. We discuss the roles that host life history and ecology have on predicted eco-evolutionary dynamics, which differ among the social insect lineages. Throughout the review, we highlight current gaps in our knowledge and promising avenues for future research, which we hope will bring us closer to an integrated understanding of socio-eco-evo-immunology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia Cremer
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria; ,
| | - Christopher D Pull
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria; ,
- Current affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom;
| | - Matthias A Fürst
- IST Austria (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), Klosterneuburg 3400, Austria; ,
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50
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Rittschof CC, Vekaria HJ, Palmer JH, Sullivan PG. Brain mitochondrial bioenergetics change with rapid and prolonged shifts in aggression in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. J Exp Biol 2018; 221:jeb.176917. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.176917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2018] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Neuronal function demands high-level energy production, and as such, a decline in mitochondrial respiration characterizes brain injury and disease. A growing number of studies, however, link brain mitochondrial function to behavioral modulation in non-diseased contexts. In the honey bee, we show for the first time that an acute social interaction, which invokes an aggressive response, may also cause a rapid decline in brain mitochondrial bioenergetics. The degree and speed of this decline has only been previously observed in the context of brain injury. Furthermore, in the honey bee, age-related increases in aggressive tendency are associated with increased baseline brain mitochondrial respiration, as well as increased plasticity in response to metabolic fuel type in vitro. Similarly, diet restriction and ketone body feeding, which commonly enhance mammalian brain mitochondrial function in vivo, cause increased aggression. Thus, even in normal behavioral contexts, brain mitochondria show a surprising degree of variation in function over both rapid and prolonged timescales, with age predicting both baseline function and plasticity in function. These results suggest that mitochondrial function is integral to modulating aggression-related neuronal signaling. We hypothesize that variation in function reflects mitochondrial calcium buffering activity, and that shifts in mitochondrial function signal to the neuronal soma to regulate gene expression and neural energetic state. Modulating brain energetic state is emerging as a critical component of the regulation of behavior in non-diseased contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare C. Rittschof
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S-225 Ag. Science Center North, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA
| | - Hemendra J. Vekaria
- Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center and the Department of Neuroscience, University of Kentucky, 741 South Limestone Street, 475 BBSRB, Lexington, KY 40536-0509, USA
| | - Joseph H. Palmer
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S-225 Ag. Science Center North, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA
| | - Patrick G. Sullivan
- Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center and the Department of Neuroscience, University of Kentucky, 741 South Limestone Street, 475 BBSRB, Lexington, KY 40536-0509, USA
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