Abstract
Pheromones in social insects play a key role in the regulation of group homoeostasis. It is well-established that parasites can modify hormone signaling of their host, but less is known about the effect of parasites on pheromone signaling in insect societies. We, thus, tested in honey bees (Apis mellifera) the effect of the widespread parasite Nosema spp. on the production of ethyl oleate (EO), the only identified primer pheromone in honey bee workers. Since environmental stressors like pesticides also can weaken honey bees, we also analyzed the effect of imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid widely used in agriculture, on EO production. We show that, contrary to imidacloprid, Nosema spp. significantly altered EO production. In addition, the level of Nosema infection was correlated positively with the level of EO production. Since EO is involved in the regulation of division of labor among workers, our result suggests that the changes in EO signaling induced by parasitism have the potential to disturb the colony homoeostasis.
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Acknowledgements
We thank D. Beslay, V. Marteau, C. Gines, and lab members for assistance with bees. Fundings were provided by HFSP (RGPP0042/2007-C101) and FEOGA grants. C. Dussaubat, A. Maisonnasse, and C. Alaux were supported by a CONICYT/French Embassy of Chili grant, a HFSP grant (RGP0042/2007-C101), and an INRA young researcher position (INRA SPE department), respectively.
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Claudia Dussaubat and Alban Maisonnasse contributed equally.
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Dussaubat, C., Maisonnasse, A., Alaux, C. et al. Nosema spp. Infection Alters Pheromone Production in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera). J Chem Ecol 36, 522–525 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-010-9786-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-010-9786-2