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<i>Nosema ceranae</i> parasitism impacts olfactory learning and memory and neurochemistry in honey bees <i>(Apis mellifera)</i>.

Author
Abstract
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Nosema sp. is an internal parasite of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, and one of the leading contributors to colony losses worldwide. This parasite is found in the honey bee midgut, and has profound consequences on the host's physiology. Nosema sp. impairs foraging performance in honey bees, yet, it is unclear whether this parasite affects the bee's neurobiology. In this study, we examine whether Nosema sp. affects odor learning and memory and whether the brains of parasitized bees show differences in amino acids and biogenic amines. We took newly emerged bees and fed them with a Nosema ceranae At approximate nurse and forager ages, we employed an odor-associative conditioning assay using the proboscis extension reflex and two bioanalytical techniques to measure changes in brain chemistry. We found that nurse-aged bees infected with N. ceranae significantly outperform controls in odor learning and memory-suggestive of precocious foraging, but by forager age, infected bees showed deficits in learning and memory. We also detected significant differences in amino acid concentrations, some of which were age-specific; as well as altered serotonin, octopamine, dopamine, and L-dopa concentrations in the brain of parasitized bees. These findings suggest N. ceranae infection affects honey bee neurobiology and behavioral tasks may be compromised. These results yield new insight into the host-parasite dynamic of honey bees and N. ceranae, as well the neurochemistry of odor learning and memory under normal, and parasitic conditions.

Year of Publication
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2017
Journal
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The Journal of experimental biology
Date Published
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2017
ISSN Number
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0022-0949
URL
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http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=29361577
DOI
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10.1242/jeb.161489
Short Title
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J Exp Biol
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