Molecular Neurogenetics of Olfactory Driven Aggression and Social Hierarchy in a Model Insect System

项目摘要 人类和许多其他动物表现出各种各样的社会行为。传统上，灵长类动物 作为人类行为的研究模型，因为它们与人类有着密切的进化关系， 高度社会化的行为。然而，使用灵长类动物进行此类研究具有显著的经济、实用和经济效益。 道德上的缺陷，而且，在这种情况下，找到其他行为研究模型将是有用的， 复杂的社会行为。一个符合这两个标准的潜在模型是昆虫的广泛家族 这些蚂蚁统称为蚂蚁，其中一些物种表现出高度复杂的“真社会”行为， 不育的工蜂和繁殖的蜂后之间的严格分工。在蚂蚁工人中，还有一个更进一步的 劳动分工，在不同种姓的工人之间分配不同的任务。 我们的假设是，种姓/殖民地特有的侵略和社会等级反映和部分决定 通过化学感觉程序，主要是通过气味受体和神经肽组的变化。 我们将在两个蚂蚁物种-佛罗里达弓背蚁和跳跃的Harpegnathos中研究这个问题， 存在于大的殖民地，只有少数男性组成，其余的是女性，包括一个 （通常）女王，以及许多从事种姓/殖民地特定攻击行为的工人，如 国防，治安和决斗

Project Summary Humans and many other animals exhibit a wide variety of social behaviors. Traditionally, primates have been used as research models of human behavior due to their close evolutionary relationship to humans and their highly social behavior. However, the use of primates for such research has significant economic, practical, and ethical drawbacks, and, in that light, it would be useful to find other models for behavioral studies that exhibit complex social behaviors. One potential model that fits both criteria is the extensive family of insects collectively known as the ants, some species of which exhibit highly complex “eusocial” behaviors involving a strict division of labor between sterile workers and reproductive queens. Among ant workers, there is a further division of labor, with different tasks allocated among different castes of workers. Our hypothesis is that caste/colony-specific aggression and social hierarchy reflect and in-part are determined by chemosensory programs dictated largely through odorant receptors and shifts in neuropeptidomic profiles. We will investigate this question in two ant species—Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator—that exist in large colonies that are composed of just a few males, and the remainder are females, including one (typically) queen, and numerous workers that engage in caste/colony specific aggressive behaviors such as defense, policing and dueling.