Honey bee brain images processed to reveal c-jun mRNA

Abstract

<p>This dataset supports article:<br /> McNeill, Matthew S.; Robinson Gene E. (2015): Voxel based analysis of the immediate early gene, c-jun, in the honey bee brain after a sucrose stimulus. Insect Molecular Biology doi:10.1111/imb.12165</p> <p>Article Abstract:<br /> Immediate early genes (IEG) have served as useful markers of brain neuronal activity in mammals, and more recently in insects. The mammalian canonical IEG, c-jun, is part of regulatory pathways conserved in insects and has been shown to be responsive to alarm pheromone in honey bees. We tested whether c-jun is responsive in honey bees to another behaviorally relevant stimulus, sucrose, in order to further identify brain regions involved in sucrose processing. To identify responsive regions, we developed a new method of voxel-based analysis of c-jun mRNA expression. We found that c-jun is expressed in somata throughout the brain. It was rapidly induced in response to sucrose stimuli, and it responded in somata near the antennal and mechanosensory motor center, mushroom body calices, and lateral protocerebrum, which are known to be involved in sucrose processing. c-jun also responded to sucrose in somata near the lateral subesophageal ganglion, dorsal optic lobe, ventral optic lobe, and dorsal posterior protocerebrum, which had not been previously identified by other methods. These results demonstrate the utility of voxel-based analysis of mRNA expression in the insect brain.</p>