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Biogenic amines are associated with worker task but not patriline in the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior

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Abstract

Division of labor among eusocial insect workers is a hallmark of advanced social organization, but its underlying neural mechanisms are not well understood. We investigated whether differences in whole-brain levels of the biogenic amines dopamine (DA), serotonin (5HT), and octopamine (OA) are associated with task specialization and genotype in similarly sized and aged workers of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior, a polyandrous species in which genotype correlates with worker task specialization. We compared amine levels of foragers and waste management workers to test for an association with worker task, and young in-nest workers across patrilines to test for a genetic influence on brain amine levels. Foragers had higher levels of DA and OA and a higher OA:5HT ratio than waste management workers. Patrilines did not significantly differ in amine levels or their ratios, although patriline affected worker body size, which correlated with amine levels despite the small size range sampled. Levels of all three amines were correlated within individuals in both studies. Among patrilines, mean levels of DA and OA, and OA and 5HT were also correlated. Our results suggest that differences in biogenic amines could regulate worker task specialization, but may be not be significantly affected by genotype.

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Acknowledgments

ARS was supported by a European Union FP7 Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship. MLM was supported by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Faculty Fellowship. This work was supported by NSF Collaborative Research Grants IOB 0725013 and 0724591 to JFAT and W. Gronenberg, respectively. We thank the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and E.A. Herre for facilities in Gamboa, the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM) for permission to collect and export the ants, and Rowena Mitchell for helping care for the ants.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, 2023 G St. NW, Lisner Hall 350, Washington DC, 20052, USA

    Adam R. Smith

  2. Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Mario L. Muscedere

  3. Biology Department, University of Scranton, Scranton, PA, 18510, USA

    Marc A. Seid

  4. Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    James F. A. Traniello

  5. School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RH, UK

    William O. H. Hughes

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Smith, A.R., Muscedere, M.L., Seid, M.A. et al. Biogenic amines are associated with worker task but not patriline in the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior . J Comp Physiol A 199, 1117–1127 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-013-0854-2

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