The short neuropeptide F regulates appetitive but not aversive responsiveness in a social insect
Louise Bestea,
Marco Paoli,
Patrick Arrufat,
Brice Ronsin,
Julie Carcaud,
Jean-Christophe Sandoz,
Rodrigo Velarde,
Martin Giurfa,
Maria Gabriela de Brito Sanchez
Affiliations
Louise Bestea
Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 09, France
Marco Paoli
Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 09, France
Patrick Arrufat
Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 09, France
Brice Ronsin
Centre for Integrative Biology, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 09, France
Julie Carcaud
Evolution, Genomes, Behavior and Ecology, CNRS (UMR 9191), IRD, University Paris Saclay, 1 Avenue de la Terrasse, Gif-sur-Yvette 91198, France
Jean-Christophe Sandoz
Evolution, Genomes, Behavior and Ecology, CNRS (UMR 9191), IRD, University Paris Saclay, 1 Avenue de la Terrasse, Gif-sur-Yvette 91198, France
Rodrigo Velarde
Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 09, France; Latin American Society for Bee Research (SOLATINA), Bolivian Chapter, Santivañez 0134, Cochabamba, Bolivia
Martin Giurfa
Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 09, France; College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
Maria Gabriela de Brito Sanchez
Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 09, France; Corresponding author
Summary: The neuropeptide F (NPF) and its short version (sNPF) mediate food- and stress-related responses in solitary insects. In the honeybee, a social insect where food collection and defensive responses are socially regulated, only sNPF has an identified receptor. Here we increased artificially sNPF levels in honeybee foragers and studied the consequences of this manipulation in various forms of appetitive and aversive responsiveness. Increasing sNPF in partially fed bees turned them into the equivalent of starved animals, enhancing both their food consumption and responsiveness to appetitive gustatory and olfactory stimuli. Neural activity in the olfactory circuits of fed animals was reduced and could be rescued by sNPF treatment to the level of starved bees. In contrast, sNPF had no effect on responsiveness to nociceptive stimuli. Our results thus identify sNPF as a key modulator of hunger and food-related responses in bees, which are at the core of their foraging activities.
