Appetitive reversal learning differences of two honey bee subspecies with different foraging behaviors

2018-11-21
Pérez Claudio, Eddie
Rodriguez-Cruz, Yoselyn
Arslan, Okan Can
Giray, Tugrul
Agosto Rivera, José Luis
Kence, Meral
Wells, Harrington
Abramson, Charles I.
We aimed to examine mechanistically the observed foraging differences across two honey bee, <jats:italic>Apis mellifera</jats:italic>, subspecies using the proboscis extension response assay. Specifically, we compared differences in appetitive reversal learning ability between honey bee subspecies: <jats:italic>Apis mellifera caucasica</jats:italic> (Pollman), and <jats:italic>Apis mellifera syriaca</jats:italic> (Skorikov) in a “common garden” apiary. It was hypothesized that specific learning differences could explain previously observed foraging behavior differences of these subspecies: <jats:italic>A.m. caucasica</jats:italic> switches between different flower color morphs in response to reward variability, and <jats:italic>A.m. syriaca</jats:italic> does not switch. We suggest that flower constancy allows reduced exposure by minimizing search and handling time, whereas plasticity is important when maximizing harvest in preparation for long winter is at a premium. In the initial or <jats:italic>Acquisition</jats:italic> phase of the test we examined specifically discrimination learning, where bees were trained to respond to a paired conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus and not to respond to a second conditioned stimulus that is not followed by an unconditioned stimulus. We found no significant differences among the subspecies in the <jats:italic>Acquisition</jats:italic> phase in appetitive learning. During the second, <jats:italic>Reversal</jats:italic> phase of the experiment, where flexibility in association was tested, the paired and unpaired conditioned stimuli were reversed. During the <jats:italic>Reversal</jats:italic> phase <jats:italic>A.m. syriaca</jats:italic> showed a reduced ability to learn the reverse association in the appetitive learning task. This observation is consistent with the hypothesis that <jats:italic>A.m. syriaca</jats:italic> foragers cannot change the foraging choice because of lack of flexibility in appetitive associations under changing contingencies. Interestingly, both subspecies continued responding to the previously rewarded conditioned stimulus in the reversal phase. We discuss potential ecological correlates and molecular underpinnings of these differences in learning across the two subspecies. In addition, in a supplemental experiment we demonstrated that these differences in appetitive reversal learning do not occur in other learning contexts.

Suggestions

Bioproduction, structure elucidation and in vitro antiproliferative effect of eumelanin pigment from Streptomyces parvus BSB49
Bayram, Sinan; Dengiz, Çağatay; GERÇEK, Yusuf Can; ÇETİN, İdil; TOPÇUL, Mehmet Rıfkı (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2020-01-01)
In this study, the structure of the purified extracellular eumelanin pigment isolated from Streptomyces spp. was elucidated by detailed analysis via two different spectroscopic techniques (FT-IR and NMR). In vitro antiproliferative effects of eumelanin were evaluated on HeLa cell line. These experiments were carried out with the evaluation of the parameters including cell viability, cell index, and mitotic index. With the cell viability and cell index, IC50 concentration of eumelanin was determined as 10 μM...
Analysis of cellulase and polyphenol oxidase production by southern pine beetle associated fungi
Valiev, Abduvali; Ögel, Zümrüt Begüm; Klepzig, Kier D. (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2009-09-01)
In this study, the production of extracellular enzymes by fungi associated with southern pine beetle was investigated for the first time. Cellulase and polyphenol oxidase production were analyzed for three beetle associated fungi. Only the mutualistic symbiont Entomocorticium sp. A was found to produce cellulases and polyphenol oxidase. In time course analyses of cellulase production in batch cultures, Entomocorticium sp. A showed maximum activity of 0.109 U/ml and 0.141 U/ml for total cellulase and endoglu...
Morphometric and genetic differentiation between anatolia and Cyprus bonbus(bombus)terrestris (l.1758)populations
Beton, Damla; Kence, Aykut; Department of Biology (2004)
Four microsatellite loci were used to investigate differentiation in Bombus terrestris, a bumblebee of interest for its high value crops pollination. Two bumblebee populations, one from Ankara (the capital of Turkey) and one from North Cyprus were analyzed. In these populations, the total number of alleles detected per polymorphic locus ranged from 7 to 12. FST genetic distance between Ankara and North Cyprus B. terrestris populations based on four microsatellite loci was calculated as 0,09351. This applies...
Live-cell imaging of Pol II promoter activity to monitor gene expression with RNA IMAGEtag reporters
SHIN, Ilchung; RAY, Judhajeet; Gupta, Vinayak; İlgü, Müslüm; Beasley, Jonathan; BENDICKSON, Lee; MEHANOVIC, Samir; Kraus, George A.; Nilsen-Hamilton, Marit (Oxford University Press (OUP), 2014-01-01)
We describe a ribonucleic acid (RNA) reporter system for live-cell imaging of gene expression to detect changes in polymerase II activity on individual promoters in individual cells. The reporters use strings of RNA aptamers that constitute IMAGEtags (Intracellular MultiAptamer GEnetic tags) that can be expressed from a promoter of choice. For imaging, the cells are incubated with their ligands that are separately conjugated with one of the FRET pair, Cy3 and Cy5. The IMAGEtags were expressed in yeast from ...
GOPred: GO Molecular Function Prediction by Combined Classifiers
Sarac, Oemer Sinan; Atalay, Mehmet Volkan; Atalay, Rengül (Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2010-08-31)
Functional protein annotation is an important matter for in vivo and in silico biology. Several computational methods have been proposed that make use of a wide range of features such as motifs, domains, homology, structure and physicochemical properties. There is no single method that performs best in all functional classification problems because information obtained using any of these features depends on the function to be assigned to the protein. In this study, we portray a novel approach that combines ...
Citation Formats
E. Pérez Claudio et al., “Appetitive reversal learning differences of two honey bee subspecies with different foraging behaviors,” PeerJ, 2018, Accessed: 00, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/51484.