- search hit 1 of 1
Sex-specific and caste-specific brain adaptations related to spatial orientation in Cataglyphis ants
Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-257299
- Cataglyphis desert ants are charismatic central place foragers. After long-ranging foraging trips, individual workers navigate back to their nest relying mostly on visual cues. The reproductive caste faces other orientation challenges, i.e. mate finding and colony foundation. Here we compare brain structures involved in spatial orientation of Cataglyphis nodus males, gynes, and foragers by quantifying relative neuropil volumes associated with two visual pathways, and numbers and volumes of antennal lobe (AL) olfactory glomeruli. Furthermore, weCataglyphis desert ants are charismatic central place foragers. After long-ranging foraging trips, individual workers navigate back to their nest relying mostly on visual cues. The reproductive caste faces other orientation challenges, i.e. mate finding and colony foundation. Here we compare brain structures involved in spatial orientation of Cataglyphis nodus males, gynes, and foragers by quantifying relative neuropil volumes associated with two visual pathways, and numbers and volumes of antennal lobe (AL) olfactory glomeruli. Furthermore, we determined absolute numbers of synaptic complexes in visual and olfactory regions of the mushroom bodies (MB) and a major relay station of the sky-compass pathway to the central complex (CX). Both female castes possess enlarged brain centers for sensory integration, learning, and memory, reflected in voluminous MBs containing about twice the numbers of synaptic complexes compared with males. Overall, male brains are smaller compared with both female castes, but the relative volumes of the optic lobes and CX are enlarged indicating the importance of visual guidance during innate behaviors. Male ALs contain greatly enlarged glomeruli, presumably involved in sex-pheromone detection. Adaptations at both the neuropil and synaptic levels clearly reflect differences in sex-specific and caste-specific demands for sensory processing and behavioral plasticity underlying spatial orientation.…
Author: | Robin GrobORCiD, Niklas Heinig, Kornelia Grübel, Wolfgang Rössler, Pauline N. Fleischmann |
---|---|
URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-257299 |
Document Type: | Journal article |
Faculties: | Fakultät für Biologie / Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften |
Language: | English |
Parent Title (English): | Journal of Comparative Neurology |
Year of Completion: | 2021 |
Volume: | 529 |
Issue: | 18 |
Pagenumber: | 3882–3892 |
Source: | Journal of Comparative Neurology 2021, 529(18):3882–3892. DOI: 10.1002/cne.25221 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.25221 |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie |
Tag: | antennal lobe; central complex; learning and memory; mushroom bodies; optic lobes; polymorphism; synaptic plasticity |
Release Date: | 2022/03/21 |
Licence (German): | CC BY-NC-ND: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung, Nicht kommerziell, Keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International |