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Lateralization in the Invertebrate Brain : Left-right asymmetry of olfaction in bumble bee, Bombus terrestris

Anfora, Gianfranco ; Rigosi, Elisa LU ; Frasnelli, Elisa ; Ruga, Vincenza ; Trona, Federica and Vallortigara, Giorgio (2011) In PLoS ONE 6(4).
Abstract

Brain and behavioural lateralization at the population level has been recently hypothesized to have evolved under social selective pressures as a strategy to optimize coordination among asymmetrical individuals. Evidence for this hypothesis have been collected in Hymenoptera: eusocial honey bees showed olfactory lateralization at the population level, whereas solitary mason bees only showed individual-level olfactory lateralization. Here we investigated lateralization of odour detection and learning in the bumble bee, Bombus terrestris L., an annual eusocial species of Hymenoptera. By training bumble bees on the proboscis extension reflex paradigm with only one antenna in use, we provided the very first evidence of asymmetrical... (More)

Brain and behavioural lateralization at the population level has been recently hypothesized to have evolved under social selective pressures as a strategy to optimize coordination among asymmetrical individuals. Evidence for this hypothesis have been collected in Hymenoptera: eusocial honey bees showed olfactory lateralization at the population level, whereas solitary mason bees only showed individual-level olfactory lateralization. Here we investigated lateralization of odour detection and learning in the bumble bee, Bombus terrestris L., an annual eusocial species of Hymenoptera. By training bumble bees on the proboscis extension reflex paradigm with only one antenna in use, we provided the very first evidence of asymmetrical performance favouring the right antenna in responding to learned odours in this species. Electroantennographic responses did not reveal significant antennal asymmetries in odour detection, whereas morphological counting of olfactory sensilla showed a predominance in the number of olfactory sensilla trichodea type A in the right antenna. The occurrence of a population level asymmetry in olfactory learning of bumble bee provides new information on the relationship between social behaviour and the evolution of population-level asymmetries in animals.

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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
in
PLoS ONE
volume
6
issue
4
article number
e18903
pages
7 pages
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:21556150
  • scopus:79955679954
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0018903
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
3ec477f7-aaef-48b2-b33d-d8b0ae6a11d4
date added to LUP
2023-10-12 09:34:11
date last changed
2024-04-04 23:59:32
@article{3ec477f7-aaef-48b2-b33d-d8b0ae6a11d4,
  abstract     = {{<p>Brain and behavioural lateralization at the population level has been recently hypothesized to have evolved under social selective pressures as a strategy to optimize coordination among asymmetrical individuals. Evidence for this hypothesis have been collected in Hymenoptera: eusocial honey bees showed olfactory lateralization at the population level, whereas solitary mason bees only showed individual-level olfactory lateralization. Here we investigated lateralization of odour detection and learning in the bumble bee, Bombus terrestris L., an annual eusocial species of Hymenoptera. By training bumble bees on the proboscis extension reflex paradigm with only one antenna in use, we provided the very first evidence of asymmetrical performance favouring the right antenna in responding to learned odours in this species. Electroantennographic responses did not reveal significant antennal asymmetries in odour detection, whereas morphological counting of olfactory sensilla showed a predominance in the number of olfactory sensilla trichodea type A in the right antenna. The occurrence of a population level asymmetry in olfactory learning of bumble bee provides new information on the relationship between social behaviour and the evolution of population-level asymmetries in animals.</p>}},
  author       = {{Anfora, Gianfranco and Rigosi, Elisa and Frasnelli, Elisa and Ruga, Vincenza and Trona, Federica and Vallortigara, Giorgio}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{Lateralization in the Invertebrate Brain : Left-right asymmetry of olfaction in bumble bee, Bombus terrestris}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0018903}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0018903}},
  volume       = {{6}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}