TY - JOUR
T1 - Changes in period mRNA levels in the brain and division of labor in honey bee colonies
AU - Toma, Dan P.
AU - Bloch, Guy
AU - Moore, Darrell
AU - Robinson, Gene E.
PY - 2000/6/6
Y1 - 2000/6/6
N2 - Previous research showed that age-related division of labor in honey bees is associated with changes in activity rhythms; young adult bees perform hive tasks with no daily rhythms, whereas older bees forage with strong daily rhythms. We report that this division of labor is also associated with differences in both circadian rhythms and mRNA levels of period, a gene well known for its role in circadian rhythms. The level of period mRNA in the brain oscillated in bees of all ages, but was significantly higher at all times in foragers. Elevated period mRNA levels cannot be attributed exclusively to aging, because bees induced to forage precociously because of a change in social environment had levels similar to normal age foragers. These results extend the regulation of a 'clock gene' to a social context and suggest that there are connections at the molecular level between division of labor and chronobiology in social insects.
AB - Previous research showed that age-related division of labor in honey bees is associated with changes in activity rhythms; young adult bees perform hive tasks with no daily rhythms, whereas older bees forage with strong daily rhythms. We report that this division of labor is also associated with differences in both circadian rhythms and mRNA levels of period, a gene well known for its role in circadian rhythms. The level of period mRNA in the brain oscillated in bees of all ages, but was significantly higher at all times in foragers. Elevated period mRNA levels cannot be attributed exclusively to aging, because bees induced to forage precociously because of a change in social environment had levels similar to normal age foragers. These results extend the regulation of a 'clock gene' to a social context and suggest that there are connections at the molecular level between division of labor and chronobiology in social insects.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0034612354&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.97.12.6914
DO - 10.1073/pnas.97.12.6914
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C2 - 10841583
AN - SCOPUS:0034612354
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 97
SP - 6914
EP - 6919
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 12
ER -