One of the main findings of this project is the determination that QMP likely does act through dopamine signalling to stop workers from reproducing, but that the physiological effect of dopamine is dependent on the dose – this indicates that dopamine signalling is more complicated than we expected and may be functioning differently in the honeybee as compared with other insect species. We are currently collecting more data to complete the objectives in this grant but also to address specific questions raised in this grant. This project will, therefore, give significant insights into honeybee physiology and behaviour. Understanding this aspect honeybee biology is important as the honeybee is a critically important pollinator species. In performing pollination, the honeybee is potentially exposed to numerous environmental chemicals including pesticides which have been shown to have sub-lethal effects on honeybees. Our data indicate that this may be partially through impacting on dopamine signalling. This has the potential to have significant impacts on agrichemical usage including pesticides, but also potentially for informing targets for the development of pesticides in the future.
Honeybees are eusocial species, meaning that one female, the queen, is responsible for the majority of the reproduction. This seemingly goes against Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection where all individuals should want to reproduce, to pass their genes on to the next generation. Although we have a good understanding of the evolutionary theory of how this remarkable life-history strategy evolves, we don’t really understand how such major shifts in evolution occur. My work, and that of others in this field, will help inform our understanding of these crucial evolutionary processes. Insight into evolutionary processes is not just important from an academic standpoint, but may help us understand how species that exist today may adapt or evolve in response to changing environments.
