1 July 2022, 11:00
Socially induced brain plasticity and behavioral reprogramming in ants
Social insects are an ideal system to study the role of gene regulation in brain development and function because individuals from different castes (workers and queens) display dramatic different behaviors despite sharing the same genome. Social insects are an ideal system to study the role of gene regulation in brain development and function because individuals from different castes (workers and queens) display dramatic different behaviors despite sharing the same genome. We have been developing the ant Harpegnathos saltator as a model organism because of its unique phenotypic plasticity. In Harpegnathos ants, adult workers can become queens via a caste transition that results in germline activation, lifespan extension, and major changes in behavior. This transition can be induced and reversed and offers a unique experimental paradigm to study the molecular regulation of behavioral and neuroanatomical plasticity. In the past ten years, we have sequenced the Harpegnathos genome, determined that all major epigenetic pathways are conserved and active in this organism, and have established various manipulation techniques,...
Speaker: Roberto Bonasio
Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
Host: Marzia Munafo` & Rahul Sureka
Place: Conf Room/Building 14
External Faculty Speaker
EMBL Rome