The Circadian Clock of the Ant Camponotus floridanus Is Localized in Dorsal and Lateral Neurons of the Brain

The circadian clock of social insects has become a focal point of interest for research, as social insects show complex forms of timed behavior and organization within their colonies. These behaviors include brood care, nest maintenance, foraging, swarming, defense, and many other tasks, of which se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of biological rhythms 2018-06, Vol.33 (3), p.255-271
Main Authors: Kay, Janina, Menegazzi, Pamela, Mildner, Stephanie, Roces, Flavio, Helfrich-Förster, Charlotte
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Axons
Brain
Brood care
Camponotus floridanus
Circadian rhythm
Circadian rhythms
CLOCK protein
Darkness
Insects
Locomotor activity
Males
Neurons
Night
Pigment-dispersing factor
Proteins
Relocation
Swarming
Synchronism
Synchronization
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Summary:The circadian clock of social insects has become a focal point of interest for research, as social insects show complex forms of timed behavior and organization within their colonies. These behaviors include brood care, nest maintenance, foraging, swarming, defense, and many other tasks, of which several require social synchronization and accurate timing. Ants of the genus Camponotus have been shown to display a variety of daily timed behaviors such as the emergence of males from the nest, foraging, and relocation of brood. Nevertheless, circadian rhythms of isolated individuals have been studied in few ant species, and the circadian clock network in the brain that governs such behaviors remains completely uncharacterized. Here we show that isolated minor workers of Camponotus floridanus exhibit temperature overcompensated free-running locomotor activity rhythms under constant darkness. Under light-dark cycles, most animals are active during day and night, with a slight preference for the night. On the neurobiological level, we show that distinct cell groups in the lateral and dorsal brain of minor workers of C. floridanus are immunostained with an antibody against the clock protein Period (PER) and a lateral group additionally with an antibody against the neuropeptide pigment-dispersing factor (PDF). PER abundance oscillates in a daily manner, and PDF-positive neurites invade most parts of the brain, suggesting that the PER/PDF-positive neurons are bona fide clock neurons that transfer rhythmic signals into the relevant brain areas controlling rhythmic behavior.
ISSN:0748-7304
1552-4531
DOI:10.1177/0748730418764738