The octopamine receptor AmOA1 modulates responsiveness to odors in the honey bee
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1
Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, United States
The biogenic amine octopamine plays important roles in behavior, learning and sensory processing in invertebrates. Octopamine affects cells via binding to G protein coupled receptors expressed on the surface of target cells. In insects, at least two classes of octopamine receptors are present: the OAMB-like family, whose members regulate Ca2+ levels; and the beta-adrenergic-like family that are coupled to cAMP (Evans & Maqueira, 2005). To disentangle the molecular mechanisms underlying the many functions of octopamine requires an understanding of the roles of specific receptors. The genome of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, contains one member of the OAMB class of receptor, AmOA1, which has been cloned and characterized (Grohmann et al., 2003). This receptor is expressed throughout the honey bee brain including the mushroom bodies, the central complex, the optic lobes and the antennal lobes (Sinakevitch, Mustard & Smith, 2011). RNAi mediated knockdown of AmOA1 expression leads to a decrease in response levels during appetitive olfactory learning (Farooqui, et al., 2003). The AmOA1 receptor is also expressed in the antennae, suggesting that it may play a role in modulating odor and/or taste in the sensory tissues. To investigate the role of AmOA1 receptors in these processes, AmOA1 receptor expression was reduced via injection of dsRNA in the antennal lobe in foraging adult bees. The next day, the responses of bees to odor and water stimulation, after sensitization by stimulation of the antennae with sucrose, was examined. Honey bees injected with AmOA1 dsRNA showed a reduced response to odor, but not water, compared to control dsRNA injected bees. However, AmOA1 knockdown bees did not show a change in their sucrose response threshold compared to control bees. Taken together, these results suggest a role for AmOA1 receptors in modulating the response to odors in the honey bee.
Keywords:
antenna,
GPCR,
gustation,
Neuromodulator,
Octopamine,
Olfaction,
RNA Interference,
sensitization
Conference:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation (see alternatives below as well)
Topic:
Neuromodulation
Citation:
Mustard
JA and
Smith
BH
(2012). The octopamine receptor AmOA1 modulates responsiveness to odors in the honey bee.
Conference Abstract:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00423
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Received:
03 May 2012;
Published Online:
07 Jul 2012.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Julie A Mustard, Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences, Tempe, AZ, 85287, United States, julie.mustard@asu.edu