Behavioral and molecular mechanisms of pheromone transmission in the honey bee (Apis mellifera)

Ma, Rong, Ph. D.

Behavioral and molecular mechanisms of pheromone transmission in the honey bee (Apis mellifera)

dc.contributor.advisor	Mueller, Ulrich G.
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Hofmann, Johann
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Gilbert, Lawrence E
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Jha, Shalene
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Grozinger, Christina M
dc.creator	Ma, Rong, Ph. D.
dc.date.accessioned	2017-10-03T14:53:45Z
dc.date.available	2017-10-03T14:53:45Z
dc.date.created	2017-08
dc.date.issued	2017-08
dc.date.submitted	August 2017
dc.date.updated	2017-10-03T14:53:45Z
dc.description.abstract	The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) has a sophisticated system of pheromonal signals that mediate a wide range of behaviors important for their fitness, including reproductive dominance, nest defense, and cooperative brood care. In honey bees, there are two distinct pheromones emitted by larvae, brood pheromone and (E)-beta-ocimene. By integrating behavior, chemical ecology, and transcriptomics, this dissertation analyzes several key stages in signal transmission in a systematic effort to understand how these two pheromones affect behavior, and in the process, generates a synthetic understanding of a highly complex system of communication. Previous studies have explored behavioral and gene expression patterns related to honey bee pheromones; however, none have compared the roles that two divergent pheromones from a common source play in rapid regulation of foraging behavior. Furthermore, while previous studies have investigated the mechanisms of pheromone detection and the factors involved in regulation of foraging behavior, it remains unclear how individual responses to pheromone exposure scales to colony-level changes in behavior. By investigating the behavioral, physiological, and genomic influences of honey bee chemical communication, this dissertation links phenotypic plasticity in behavior to gene expression profiles in the brain and provides insights into the evolution of a sophisticated chemical language.
dc.description.department	Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier	doi:10.15781/T2TM72H0X
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/2152/61915
dc.language.iso	en
dc.subject	Honey bee
dc.subject	Behavior
dc.subject	Ecology
dc.subject	Gene expression
dc.subject	Genomics
dc.subject	Neurophysiology
dc.subject	Signal transmission
dc.title	Behavioral and molecular mechanisms of pheromone transmission in the honey bee (Apis mellifera)
dc.type	Thesis
dc.type.material	text
thesis.degree.department	Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
thesis.degree.discipline	Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
thesis.degree.grantor	The University of Texas at Austin
thesis.degree.level	Doctoral
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Philosophy