ArticleJournal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology2013
Biogenic amines are associated with worker task but not patriline in the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior.
Article in Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ant brain metabolomics reveals contrasting purine and amine dynamics in a reversible trematode-induced host manipulation.Royal Society open science · 2026Article
- Article
- The role of dopamine in foraging decisions in social insects.Frontiers in insect science · 2025Review
- Review
- Article
- Article
- Origanum vulgare terpenoids modulate Myrmica scabrinodis brain biogenic amines and ant behaviour.PloS one · 2018Article
- Age, worksite location, neuromodulators, and task performance in the antBehavioral ecology and sociobiology · 2016Article
- Gene expression during zombie ant biting behavior reflects the complexity underlying fungal parasitic behavioral manipulation.BMC genomics · 2015Article
- Polymorphism and division of labour in a socially complex ant: neuromodulation of aggression in the Australian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2015Article
- Worker senescence and the sociobiology of aging in ants.Behavioral ecology and sociobiology · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Division of labor among eusocial insect workers is a hallmark of advanced social organization, but its underlying neural mechanisms are not well understood. We investigated whether differences in whole-brain levels of the biogenic amines dopamine (DA), serotonin (5HT), and octopamine (OA) are associated with task specialization and genotype in similarly sized and aged workers of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex echinatior, a polyandrous species in which genotype correlates with worker task specialization. We compared amine levels of foragers and waste management workers to test for an association with worker task, and young in-nest workers across patrilines to test for a genetic influence on brain amine levels. Foragers had higher levels of DA and OA and a higher OA:5HT ratio than waste management workers. Patrilines did not significantly differ in amine levels or their ratios, although patriline affected worker body size, which correlated with amine levels despite the small size range sampled. Levels of all three amines were correlated within individuals in both studies. Among patrilines, mean levels of DA and OA, and OA and 5HT were also correlated. Our results suggest that differences in biogenic amines could regulate worker task specialization, but may be not be significantly affected by genotype.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.