@article{BachertScheiner2023,
  author    = {Bachert, Antonia and Scheiner, Ricarda},
  title     = {The ant's weapon improves honey bee learning performance},
  series = {Scientific Reports},
  volume    = {13},
  journal   = {Scientific Reports},
  doi       = {10.1038/s41598-023-35540-7},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-358064},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Formic acid is the main component of the ant's major weapon against enemies. Being mainly used as a chemical defense, the acid is also exploited for recruitment and trail marking. The repelling effect of the organic acid is used by some mammals and birds which rub themselves in the acid to eliminate ectoparasites. Beekeepers across the world rely on this effect to control the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Varroa mites are considered the most destructive pest of honey bees worldwide and can lead to the loss of entire colonies. Formic acid is highly effective against Varroa mites but can also kill the honeybee queen and worker brood. Whether formic acid can also affect the behavior of honey bees is unknown. We here study the effect of formic acid on sucrose responsiveness and cognition of honey bees treated at different live stages in field-relevant doses. Both behaviors are essential for survival of the honey bee colony. Rather unexpectedly, formic acid clearly improved the learning performance of the bees in appetitive olfactory conditioning, while not affecting sucrose responsiveness. This exciting side effect of formic acid certainly deserves further detailed investigations.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KimAmoresKangetal.2019,
  author    = {Kim, Bo-Mi and Amores, Angel and Kang, Seunghyun and Ahn, Do-Hwan and Kim, Jin-Hyoung and Kim, Il-Chan and Lee, Jun Hyuck and Lee, Sung Gu and Lee, Hyoungseok and Lee, Jungeun and Kim, Han-Woo and Desvignes, Thomas and Batzel, Peter and Sydes, Jason and Titus, Tom and Wilson, Catherine A. and Catchen, Julian M. and Warren, Wesley C. and Schartl, Manfred and Detrich, H. William III and Postlethwait, John H. and Park, Hyun},
  title     = {Antarctic blackfin icefish genome reveals adaptations to extreme environments},
  series = {Nature Ecology \& Evolution},
  volume    = {3},
  journal   = {Nature Ecology \& Evolution},
  doi       = {10.1038/s41559-019-0812-7},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-325811},
  pages     = {469-478},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Icefishes (suborder Notothenioidei; family Channichthyidae) are the only vertebrates that lack functional haemoglobin genes and red blood cells. Here, we report a high-quality genome assembly and linkage map for the Antarctic blackfin icefish Chaenocephalus aceratus, highlighting evolved genomic features for its unique physiology. Phylogenomic analysis revealed that Antarctic fish of the teleost suborder Notothenioidei, including icefishes, diverged from the stickleback lineage about 77 million years ago and subsequently evolved cold-adapted phenotypes as the Southern Ocean cooled to sub-zero temperatures. Our results show that genes involved in protection from ice damage, including genes encoding antifreeze glycoprotein and zona pellucida proteins, are highly expanded in the icefish genome. Furthermore, genes that encode enzymes that help to control cellular redox state, including members of the sod3 and nqo1 gene families, are expanded, probably as evolutionary adaptations to the relatively high concentration of oxygen dissolved in cold Antarctic waters. In contrast, some crucial regulators of circadian homeostasis (cry and per genes) are absent from the icefish genome, suggesting compromised control of biological rhythms in the polar light environment. The availability of the icefish genome sequence will accelerate our understanding of adaptation to extreme Antarctic environments.},
  language  = {en}
}