Aggression pheromone as alarm pheromone:Pheromone Resources

Aggression pheromone as alarm pheromone:

Alarm pheromone information is transmitted, via projection neurons, in ants to the lateral horn and the calyces of the mushroom body of the protocerebrum. These neurons may participate in the control of aggressive behavior, which is sensitized by alarm pheromones and is triggered by non-pheromonal sensory stimuli associated with a potential enemy (Mizunami et al.,2010).

Alarm pheromone as Aggression pheromone:

Honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Apini) produce alarm pheromone in the sting gland and a pheromone that has sometimes been described as an alarm pheromone in their mandibular glands, but which does not galvanize colony aggression (Vallet et al., 1991; Couvillon et al., 2010). In the highly social bees (honey bees and stingless bees), alarm pheromones can increase aggression and flight activity at the nest entrance, a defensive response (Boch and Shearer, 1971; Roubik, 1989). Honeybees became adapted to synthetic alarm pheromone components dispensed within their hives and were less inclined to sting. The reduction in the stinging response of honeybee colonies which were adapted to 6 or 8 alarm pheromone components was no more than in colonies adapted to 3 components only, synthetic alarm pheromones to reduce aggression (Free, 1988).

Alarm pheromones play an important role in social insects and enhance collective fitness by providing information about dangers such as predators (Billen and Morgan, 1998). For example, honey bees can use alarm pheromones to co-ordinate colony defense (Free, 1987; Pirk et al., 2011). The behavioral responses can be classified  into (1) initial preparatory phase of alarm behavior, (2) alarm behavior and (3) aggression against a potential enemy (Makoto Mizunami et al.,2010). Aggressive behaviour increases with age when the honey bees are exposed to alarm pheromone ( Alaux et al.,2009). Not only it it increases the aggressive behaviour,but also increases metabolism in honey bees (Southwick  and Moritz, 1985) and higher cytochrome c oxidase activity in rodents and lizards (Sakata et al.,2005). Intrestingly, a reduced metabolism and aggression has been reported for some parts of the human brain (Anckarsa¨ter, 2006). Melanocortins in the preputial glands can alter the excretion of aggression-modifying pheromonesn (Caldwell  and Lepri, 2002.).

The ‘one gland – two functions hypothesis’ has developed (Kerr and da Cruz, 1961)  in meliponine communication. If one assumes that mandibular gland secretions do indeed induce both scent trail following to distant food sources in newly recruited worker bees and defensive/aggressive behaviour in the same workers near the nest. Almost all workers attracted to target 1 became its aggressors, probably due to the presence of alarm pheromones. Thus, pupal odor seems to act as a chemical signal to indicate the presence of pupae in the nest, attracting the workers which would care for and defend the pupae against predators. Although pupal odor does not elicit alarm behavior, it appears to interact with alarm pheromones by potentiating their effects (Manzoli-Palma et al.,1998).

References:

Alaux, C., Sinha, S., Hasadsri, L., Hunt, G. J., Guzmán-Novoa, E., DeGrandi-Hoffman, G. and Robinson, G. E. 2009.Honey bee aggression supports a link between gene regulation and behavioral evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(36):15400-15405.

Anckarsa¨ter, H.2006. Central nervous changes in social dysfunction: Autism, aggression, and psychopathy. Brain Res Bull 69:259–265.

Billen, J. and Morgan, E. D. 1998.Pheromone communication in social insects: sources and secretions. In Pheromone Communication in Social Insects (ed. R. K. Vander Meer, M. D. Breed, K. E. Espelie and M. L. Winston), pp. 3-33. Boulder, CO:Westview Press.

Boch, R. and Shearer, D. A. 1971. Chemical releasers of alarm behaviour in the honey-bee, Apis mellifera. J. Insect Physiol. 17:2277-2285.

Caldwell, H.K. and Lepri, J.J. 2002.Disruption of the fifth melanocortin receptor alters the urinary excretion of aggression-modifying pheromones in male house mice. Chem. Senses, 27, 91–94.

Couvillon, M. J., Barton, S. N., Cohen, J. A., Fabricius, O. K., Kärcher, M. H.,Cooper, L. S., Silk, M. J., Helanterä, H. and Ratnieks, F. L. W. 2010. Alarm pheromones do not mediate rapid shifts in honey bee guard acceptance threshold. J.Chem. Ecol. 36, 1306-1308.

Free, J. B. 1987. Pheromones  of  Social Bees. London: Chapman and Hall.

Free, J. B. 1988. Adapting honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) to synthetic alarm pheromones to reduce aggression, Journal of Apicultural Research, 27(4):227-229.

Kerr, W. E. and da Cruz, C. C. 1961.Funções diferentes tomadas pela glândula mandibular na evolução das abelhas em geral e em Trigona (Oxytrigona) tataira emespecial. Rev. Bras. Biol. 21, 1-16.

Kiyokawa, Y., Kikusui, T., Takeuchi, Y.and  Mori, Y. 2004. Alarm pheromones with different functions are released from different regions of the body surface of male rats. Chemical senses, 29(1), 35-40.

Makoto Mizunami, Nobuhiro Yamagata and Hiroshi Nishino.2010. Alarm pheromone processing in the ant brain: an evolutionary Perspective,Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience,4:1-9.

Manzoli-Palma, M. F., Gobbi, N. and  Palma, M. S. 1998.Alarm pheromones and the influence of pupal odor on the aggressiveness of Polybia paulista (Ihering)(Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins,4(1):61-69.

Mizunami, M., Yamagata, N. and Nishino, H.2010. Alarm pheromone processing in the ant brain: an evolutionary perspective. Front. Behav. Neurosci.4:28.

Roubik, D. W. 1989. Ecology and Natural History of Tropical Bees. New York, NY:Cambridge University Press.

Sakata, J.T., Crews, D., Gonzalez-Lima, F.2005.Behavioral correlates of differences in neural metabolic capacity. Brain Res Brain Res Rev 48:1–15.

Schorkopf, D. L. P., Hrncir, M., Mateus, S., Zucchi, R., Schmidt, V. M. and  Barth, F. G. 2009.Mandibular gland secretions of meliponine worker bees: further evidence for their role in interspecific and intraspecific defence and aggression and against their role in food source signalling. Journal of Experimental Biology, 212(8):1153-1162.

Southwick, E.E. and Moritz, R.F.A.1985.Metabolic response to alarm pheromone in honey bees. J Insect Physiol 31:389–392.

Vallet, A., Cassier, P. and Lensky, Y. 1991. Ontogeny of the fine structure of the mandibular glands of the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) workers and the pheromonal activity of 2-heptanone. J. Insect Physiol. 37:789-804.