Department of Genetics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2010 Feb 9;5(2):e9116. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009116.
Variation in individual behavior within social groups can affect the fitness of the group as well as the individual, and can be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. However, the molecular factors associated with individual variation in social behavior remain relatively unexplored. We used honey bees (Apis mellifera) as a model to examine differences in socially-regulated behavior among individual workers, and used transcriptional profiling to determine if specific gene expression patterns are associated with these individual differences. In honey bees, the reproductive queen produces a pheromonal signal that regulates many aspects of worker behavior and physiology and maintains colony organization.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we demonstrate that there is substantial natural variation in individual worker attraction to queen pheromone (QMP). Furthermore, worker attraction is negatively correlated with ovariole number-a trait associated with reproductive potential in workers. We identified transcriptional differences in the adult brain associated with individual worker attraction to QMP, and identified hundreds of transcripts that are organized into statistically-correlated gene networks and associated with this response.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our studies demonstrate that there is substantial variation in worker attraction to QMP among individuals, and that this variation is linked with specific differences in physiology and brain gene expression patterns. This variation in individual response thresholds may reveal underlying variation in queen-worker reproductive conflict, and may mediate colony function and productivity by creating variation in individual task performance.
群体中个体行为的变化既可以影响群体的适应性，也可以影响个体的适应性，这种变化可能是由遗传和环境因素共同作用引起的。然而，与社会行为个体差异相关的分子因素仍未得到充分探索。我们以蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）为模型，研究了个体工蜂之间社会调节行为的差异，并利用转录组分析来确定这些个体差异是否与特定的基因表达模式相关。在蜜蜂中，生殖蜂王会产生一种信息素信号，这种信号调节着工蜂行为和生理的许多方面，并维持着群体的组织。
方法/主要发现：在这里，我们证明了个体工蜂对蜂王信息素（QMP）的吸引力存在着很大的自然差异。此外，工蜂的吸引力与卵巢数量呈负相关，而卵巢数量是工蜂生殖潜力的一个特征。我们在成年大脑中发现了与个体工蜂对 QMP 的吸引力相关的转录差异，并鉴定出了数百个与这种反应相关的、组织成具有统计学相关性的基因网络的转录本。
结论/意义：我们的研究表明，个体对 QMP 的吸引力存在着很大的差异，这种差异与生理和大脑基因表达模式的特定差异有关。这种个体反应阈值的变化可能揭示了蜂王-工蜂生殖冲突的潜在变化，并可能通过个体任务表现的变化来调节群体功能和生产力。
