In situ hybridization analysis of the expression of futsch, tau, and MESK2 homologues in the brain of the European honeybee (Apis mellifera L.).

ABSTRACT:

Background

The importance of visual sense in Hymenopteran social behavior is suggested by the existence of a Hymenopteran insect-specific neural circuit related to visual processing and the fact that worker honeybee brain changes morphologically according to its foraging experience. To analyze molecular and neural bases that underlie the visual abilities of the honeybees, we used a cDNA microarray to search for gene(s) expressed in a neural cell-type preferential manner in a visual center of the honeybee brain, the optic lobes (OLs).

Methodology/principal findings

Expression analysis of candidate genes using in situ hybridization revealed two genes expressed in a neural cell-type preferential manner in the OLs. One is a homologue of Drosophila futsch, which encodes a microtu

SUBMITTER: Kaneko K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2821913 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature