Omega-3 deficiency impairs honey bee learning
Omega-3 deficiency impairs honey bee learning
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.1517375112
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发表时间：
2015-12-22
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Shafir, Sharoni
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Arien, Yael;Dag, Arnon;Shafir, Sharoni
缺乏必需的omega-3多不饱和脂肪酸(PUFAs)，特别是长链的二十二碳六烯酸(DHA)，与哺乳动物的健康问题有关，包括许多精神障碍和认知能力下降。昆虫的长链多不饱和脂肪酸含量很低，而omega-3缺乏对昆虫认知的影响还没有研究。我们发现，在异质景观和我们分析的许多手工收集的花粉中，蜜蜂群体收集的花粉的omega-6：3比率很低。我们发现桉树是一种重要的蜜蜂饲料植物，omega-3含量特别低，omega-6：3比率很高。我们测试了饮食中缺乏omega-3对经济价值很高的蜜蜂的嗅觉和触觉联想学习的影响。与喂食富含omega-3的饲料或富含omega-3的花粉混合物的蜜蜂相比，喂食两种不含omega-3的饲料或桉树花粉的蜜蜂在条件性鼻子延伸试验中的学习能力大大降低。对生产性能的影响不是由于蔗糖敏感度的降低。Omega-3缺乏也会导致下咽腺体变小。蜜蜂的大脑中含有很高的omega-3浓度，饮食对其影响很小，这表明对学习有额外的外围效应。西方饮食中omega-6：3的比例从低到高被认为是许多疾病和精神健康下降的主要原因。类似的转变似乎正在发生在蜜蜂饲料中，这可能是蜂群减少的一个重要因素。我们的研究表明，omega-3缺乏对非哺乳动物的认知能力有不利影响。
Deficiency in essential omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly the long-chain form of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), has been linked to health problems in mammals, including many mental disorders and reduced cognitive performance. Insects have very low long-chain PUFA concentrations, and the effect of omega-3 deficiency on cognition in insects has not been studied. We show a low omega-6:3 ratio of pollen collected by honey bee colonies in heterogenous landscapes and in many hand-collected pollens that we analyzed. We identified Eucalyptus as an important bee-forage plant particularly poor in omega-3 and high in the omega-6:3 ratio. We tested the effect of dietary omega-3 deficiency on olfactory and tactile associative learning of the economically highly valued honey bee. Bees fed either of two omega-3-poor diets, or Eucalyptus pollen, showed greatly reduced learning abilities in conditioned proboscis-extension assays compared with those fed omega-3-rich diets, or omega-3-rich pollen mixture. The effect on performance was not due to reduced sucrose sensitivity. Omega-3 deficiency also led to smaller hypopharyngeal glands. Bee brains contained high omega-3 concentrations, which were only slightly affected by diet, suggesting additional peripheral effects on learning. The shift from a low to high omega-6: 3 ratio in the Western human diet is deemed a primary cause of many diseases and reduced mental health. A similar shift seems to be occurring in bee forage, possibly an important factor in colony declines. Our study shows the detrimental effect on cognitive performance of omega-3 deficiency in a nonmammal.