THE USE OF INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION IN INSECTS

昆虫对个体信息和社会信息的利用 我们使用昆虫模型系统来研究动物如何使用信息来达成影响生长，生存和繁殖的关键决策。除了仅仅对各种线索做出反应外，许多物种的个体还表现出学习能力，即获得新信息的内部表征。学习可以基于个人的经验（个人学习），也可以基于他人的经验（社会学习）。虽然我的实验室过去的大部分研究都集中在个人学习上，但我们最近增加了新的研究领域，研究社会信息使用的生态、进化和机制。我们目前的重点是果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）幼虫，这是生物学中的一个关键模型系统，具有许多强大的研究工具，并且只有几千个功能神经元的简单大脑。 果蝇的社会行为。我们最近开发了强大的新协议，用于量化果蝇幼虫的社会行为和社会信息使用。使用这些协议，我们记录了社会吸引力和社会学习的幼虫，确定肠道细菌的挥发物介导的社会吸引力的来源，并量化幼虫自发的社会行为（倾向于形成社会群体）从孵化到化蛹。我们将在这些初步结果的基础上，量化社会行为中自然遗传变异的程度，人工选择幼虫的社会和孤独线，并评估社会幼虫从社会中获得的好处。此外，我们将衡量的作用，间接遗传效应的结构的动态幼虫的社会行为，通过使用突变体介导幼虫的社会行为的感官方式进行评估，并测试是否组的幼虫觅食决定上级那些孤独的幼虫。 信息和营养。有争议的文献表明，动物可以评估特定的营养缺乏，并依靠学习来寻求所需的营养。我们打算用果蝇来彻底研究这个悬而未决的问题。我们相信，我们与果蝇强大的神经遗传工具一起开发的行为协议可以帮助我们回答有关动物检测和适应性应对特定营养缺乏的能力的关键问题。 意义我们的工作将帮助我们了解社会性和社会信息使用的演变和机制，包括治疗人类社会障碍的基础。我们对学习和营养的研究将帮助我们了解人类饮食选择和肥胖的潜在机制。

THE USE OF INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION IN INSECTS We use insect model systems to examine how animals use information to reach key decisions affecting growth, survival and reproduction. In addition to merely responding to a variety of cues, individuals in many species show learning, defined as the acquisition of internal representations of new information. Learning can be based either on an individual’s own experience (individual learning), or the experience of others (social learning). While much of the past research in my lab has focussed on individual learning, we have recently added novel lines of research examining the ecology, evolution and mechanisms of social information use. Our current focus is on fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) larvae, a key model system in biology with numerous powerful research tools and with a simple brain of only a few thousand functional neurons. SOCIALLY INFLUENCED BEHAVIOUR IN FRUIT FLIES. We have recently developed powerful new protocols for quantifying social behaviour and social information use in fruit fly larvae. Using these protocols, we have documented social attraction and social learning in the larvae, identified gut bacteria as the source of the volatiles mediating social attraction, and quantified larval spontaneous social behaviour (tendency to form social groups) from hatching until pupation. We will build on these initial results to quantify the magnitude of natural genetic variation in social behaviour, artificially select for social and solitary lines of larvae and assess the benefits that social larvae derive from being social. In addition, we will measure the role of indirect genetic effects in structuring the dynamics of larval social behaviour, assess through the use of mutants the sensory modalities mediating larval social behaviour, and test whether groups of larvae make foraging decisions superior to those of solitary larvae. INFORMATION AND NUTRITION. There is controversial literature suggesting that animals can assess specific nutritional deficiencies and rely on learning to seek the desired nutrients. We intend to use fruit flies for a thorough examination of this unresolved issue. We believe that behavioural protocols we have developed together with fruit flies’ powerful neurogenetic tools can help us answer key questions about animals’ abilities to detect and adaptively respond to specific nutrient deficiencies. SIGNIFICANCE. Our work will help us to understand the evolution and mechanisms of sociality and social information use, including the foundation for treatments of social disorders in humans. Our research on learning and nutrition will help us understand mechanisms underlying diet choice and obesity in humans.