Preimaginal olfactory experiences cause behavioral and neural plasticity in adult honeybees

FARINA WALTER M.

Montevideo

Simposio; XII Congress of International Society of Neuroethology; 2016

International Society of Neuroethology

Experiences acquired during the development have long-term consequences on mature behavior. In holometabolous insects that suffer profound changes associated with metamorphosis, the effect of odor experiences at larval instars on the subsequent physiological and behavioral response is still unclear. To address the impact of preimaginal experiences on the adult stages, we choose an insect model species to assess individual and social behavior, the honeybee Apis mellifera. Experimental beehives containing larvae were fed either with scented or unscented food. The effect of the preimaginal experiences with the food odor was assessed in learning performance, memory retention in adults, regulation of synaptic-related gene expression and adult´s antennal response to odors. In proboscis extension response (PER) conditioning assays young adults learned faster the preexposed odor than control bees reared in colonies fed with unscented food. The treated group also exhibited differences to odors according to their perceptual similarity with the preexposed one. Proteins involved in synaptic formation after associative learning, such as neurexins and neuroligins, showed similar levels of expression in the adult brain after preimaginal experiences. At the sensory periphery, the experience did not alter the number of the olfactory sensilla placoidea, but did reduce the electrical response of the antennae to odors. Our study provides a new insight into the effects of preimaginal experiences in the honeybee and the mechanisms underlying olfactory plasticity at larval stage of holometabolous insects.