Bacterial LPS induces sicjness behavior in honey bees

KAZLAUSKAS N; KLAPPENBACH M; DEPINO AM; LOCATELLI F

Mar del Plata

Congreso; XXX Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias; 2015

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias

During an infection, animals suffer several changes in their normal physiology and behavior which can include lethargy, appetite loss and reduction in grooming and general movement. These sets of alterations are known as sickness behavior and although they have been extensively believed to be orchestrated primarily by the immune system, a relevant role for the central nervous system has also been established recently. The aim of our work is to develop a simple animal model to study how both of these systems interact during an infection. We administered a bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into the thorax of honey bees to mimic a bacterial infection, and then we evaluated a set of stereotyped behaviors of the animals.First, we showed that this immune challenge reduces the locomotor activity of the animals in a narrow time window after LPS injection. Furthermore, bees exhibit a loss of appetite 60 and 90 minutes after injection, but not 24 hours later. We also demonstrated that LPS injection reduces spontaneous antennal movements in harnessed animals, which suggests a reduction in the motivational state of the bees. Finally, we showed that the LPS injection diminish the interaction between animals, a crucial behavior in social insects.These findings prove the honey bee as a useful insect model for the study of the sickness behavior.