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Honey bees display a fascinating division of labour among foragers. While some bees solely collect pollen, others only collect nectar. It is assumed that individual differences in sensory response thresholds are at the basis of this division of labour. Biogenic amines and their receptors are important candidates for regulating the division of labour, because they can modulate sensory response thresholds. Here, we investigated the role of the honey bee tyramine receptor AmTYR1 in regulating the division of foraging labour. We report differential splicing of the Amtyr1 gene and show differential gene expression of one isoform in the suboesophageal ganglion of pollen and nectar foragers. This ganglion mediates gustatory inputs. These findings imply a role for the honey bee tyramine receptor in regulating the division of foraging labour, possibly through the suboesophageal ganglion.
Background: The forelimb-specific gene tbx5 is highly conserved and essential for the development of forelimbs in zebrafish, mice, and humans. Amongst birds, a single order, Dinornithiformes, comprising the extinct wingless moa of New Zealand, are unique in having no skeletal evidence of forelimb-like structures.
Results: To determine the sequence of tbx5 in moa, we used a range of PCR-based techniques on ancient DNA to retrieve all nine tbx5 exons and splice sites from the giant moa, Dinornis. Moa Tbx5 is identical to chicken Tbx5 in being able to activate the downstream promotors of fgf10 and ANF. In addition we show that missexpression of moa tbx5 in the hindlimb of chicken embryos results in the formation of forelimb features, suggesting that Tbx5 was fully functional in wingless moa. An alternatively spliced exon 1 for tbx5 that is expressed specifically in the forelimb region was shown to be almost identical between moa and ostrich, suggesting that, as well as being fully functional, tbx5 is likely to have been expressed normally in moa since divergence from their flighted ancestors, approximately 60 mya.