Polymorphism and division of labour in a socially complex ant: neuromodulation of aggression in the Australian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina
Polymorphism and division of labour in a socially complex ant: neuromodulation of aggression in the Australian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina
复制标题
DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2015.0704
复制
发表时间：
2015-07-22
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Traniello, James F. A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kamhi, J. Frances;Nunn, Kelley;Traniello, James F. A.
真社会性昆虫的复杂社会结构可能涉及工蚁的形态和行为分化。神经解剖学变异可能强调工人的劳动分工，但多态物种中基于体型的任务专业化的调节机制尚不清楚。澳大利亚织叶蚁 Oecophylla smaragdina 表现出工蚁的多态性：体型较大的主要工蚁积极保卫树栖领地，而体型较小的未成年工蚁则负责育雏。在这里，我们证明了章鱼胺 (OA) 可以调节 O. smaragdina 工蚁体型相关的攻击性。我们发现，未成年人的大脑中 OA 滴度显着高于未成年人，并且 OA 与对非同居者的攻击性反应频率呈正相关且特异相关，而攻击性反应是领地防御的关键组成部分。药理学操作有效地改变了主要和次要工人大脑中的OA作用，逆转了每个工人体型等级的攻击性特征水平。结果表明，改变 OA 行为足以产生与体型相关的社会角色的攻击特征的差异。因此，神经调节剂可能会对与任务相关的刺激产生反应变化，这些刺激与工人体型差异和附带行为专业化有关，这是复杂社会系统中劳动分工的重要组成部分。
Complex social structure in eusocial insects can involve worker morphological and behavioural differentiation. Neuroanatomical variation may underscore worker division of labour, but the regulatory mechanisms of size-based task specialization in polymorphic species are unknown. The Australian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina, exhibits worker polyphenism: larger major workers aggressively defend arboreal territories, whereas smaller minors nurse brood. Here, we demonstrate that octopamine (OA) modulates worker size-related aggression in O. smaragdina. We found that the brains of majors had significantly higher titres of OA than those of minors and that OA was positively and specifically correlated with the frequency of aggressive responses to non-nestmates, a key component of territorial defence. Pharmacological manipulations that effectively switched OA action in major and minor worker brains reversed levels of aggression characteristic of each worker size class. Results suggest that altering OA action is sufficient to produce differences in aggression characteristic of size-related social roles. Neuromodulators therefore may generate variation in responsiveness to task-related stimuli associated with worker size differentiation and collateral behavioural specializations, a significant component of division of labour in complex social systems.