Data from: Cooperative defence operates by social modulation of biogenic amine levels in the honeybee brain

The defence of a society often requires that some specialized members coordinate to repel a threat at personal risk. This is especially true for honeybee guards, which defend the hive and may sacrifice their lives upon stinging. Central to this cooperative defensive response is the sting alarm pheromone, which has isoamyl acetate (IAA) as its main component. Although this defensive behaviour has been well described, the neural mechanisms triggered by IAA to coordinate stinging have long remained unknown. Here we show that IAA upregulates brain levels of serotonin and dopamine, thereby increasing the likelihood of an individual bee to attack and sting. Pharmacological enhancement of the levels of both amines induces higher defensive responsiveness, while decreasing them via antagonists decreases stinging. Our results thus uncover the neural mechanism by which an alarm pheromone recruits individuals to attack and repel a threat, and suggest that the alarm pheromone of honeybees acts on their response threshold rather than as a direct trigger.

Usage Notes
Data coloniesRaw data supporting the information presented in Figure 1.Data individualsRaw data supporting the information presented in Figures 2 and 3Data pharmacoRaw data supporting the information presented in Figure 4

社会之防御常需特定成员协同抵御威胁，即便个人利益受损。此情形对于蜜蜂守卫尤为显著，它们捍卫蜂巢，甚至可能在蜇刺中牺牲生命。这一协同防御反应的核心是蜇警信息素，其主要成分是异戊酸乙酯（IAA）。尽管这种防御行为已被详尽描述，但由IAA触发的协调蜇刺的神经机制一直未解之谜。本研究揭示，IAA上调脑内血清素和多巴胺水平，从而提高单个蜜蜂攻击和蜇刺的可能性。通过药理手段增强这两种胺的水平，可诱导更高的防御反应性，而通过拮抗剂降低其水平则可减少蜇刺行为。因此，我们的研究揭示了警报信息素招募个体攻击并驱逐威胁的神经机制，并表明蜜蜂的警报信息素作用于其反应阈值，而非直接作为触发器。

使用说明
数据群落数据支持图1所示信息的原始数据。
数据个体数据支持图2和图3所示信息的原始数据。
数据药理学数据支持图4所示信息的原始数据。