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Serotonin modulates worker responsiveness to trail pheromone in the ant Pheidole dentata

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Abstract

As social insect workers mature, outside-nest tasks associated with foraging and defense are typically performed at higher frequencies. Foraging in ants is often a pheromonally mediated collective action performed by mature workers; age-dependent differences in olfactory response thresholds may therefore proximately regulate task repertoire development. In the ant Pheidole dentata, foraging activity increases with chronological age in minor workers, and is chemically controlled. The onset of foraging in minor workers is accompanied by marked neuroanatomical and neurochemical changes, including synaptic remodeling in olfactory regions of the brain, proliferation of serotonergic neurons, and increased brain titers of monoamines, notably serotonin. We examined the linkage of serotonin and olfactory responsiveness by assaying trail-following performance in mature P. dentata minor workers with normal serotonin levels, or serotonin levels experimentally lowered by oral administration of the serotonin synthesis inhibitor α-methyltryptophan (AMTP). By assessing responsiveness to standardized pheromone trails, we demonstrate that trail-following behaviors are significantly reduced in serotonin-depleted workers. AMTP-treated individuals were less likely to initiate trail following, and oriented along pheromone trails for significantly shorter distances than untreated, similar-age workers. These results demonstrate for the first time that serotonin modulates olfactory processes and/or motor functions associated with cooperative foraging in ants.

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Abbreviations

5HT:

5-Hydroxytryptamine (serotonin)

AC:

Age class

AMTP:

α-Methyltryptophan

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

DA:

Dopamine

HPLC-ED:

High-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

OA:

Octopamine

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Lloyd Davis for collecting ant colonies used in this study and to Jay Hirsch for advice on HPLC mobile phase preparation. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. This work was supported by a Boston University Undergraduate Research Opportunities Grant to NJ, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship to MLM, and NSF Collaborative Research Grants IOB 0725013 and 0724591 to JFAT and W. Gronenberg, respectively.

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Author notes

  1. Mario L. Muscedere

    Present address: Program in Neuroscience, Boston University, 2 Cummington Street, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

  2. Natalie Johnson

    Present address: Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

  3. Brendan C. Gillis

    Present address: Biology Department, Northeastern University, Boston, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, USA

    Mario L. Muscedere, Natalie Johnson, Brendan C. Gillis, J. Frances Kamhi & James F. A. Traniello

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  1. Mario L. Muscedere
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Correspondence to Mario L. Muscedere.

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Muscedere, M.L., Johnson, N., Gillis, B.C. et al. Serotonin modulates worker responsiveness to trail pheromone in the ant Pheidole dentata . J Comp Physiol A 198, 219–227 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-011-0701-2

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