Characterization of a Dopamine Transporter and Its Splice Variant Reveals Novel Features of Dopaminergic Regulation in the Honey Bee.

ABSTRACT: Dopamine is an important neuromodulator involved in reward-processing, movement control, motivational responses, and other aspects of behavior in most animals. In honey bees (Apis mellifera), the dopaminergic system has been implicated in an elaborate pheromonal communication network between individuals and in the differentiation of females into reproductive (queen) and sterile (worker) castes. Here we have identified and characterized a honey bee dopamine transporter (AmDAT) and a splice variant lacking exon 3 (AmDATΔex3). Both transcripts are present in the adult brain and antennae as well as at lower levels within larvae and ovaries. When expressed separately in the Xenopus oocyte system, AmDAT localizes to the oocyte surface whereas the splice variant is retained at an in

SUBMITTER: Zhang V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6838227 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature