BRAIN · Bacterial regulation of Apis neurophysiology
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-07-01 → 2020-06-30
- EU contribution
- €175,420
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Bacterial regulation of Apis neurophysiology
The bacterial communities harboured by the gastrointestinal tract of animals play key roles in host nutrition and immunity, and are increasingly recognized as regulators of brain function and consequent animal behaviour. The evolution of the brain itself is likely intertwined with that of microbial symbionts, having co-evolved through evolutionary time. However, such relationships have remained largely obscure due to lack of investigation in experimental models of the gut microbiota – brain axis beyond those traditionally used in pharmacology (i.e. rodents). This project aimed to achieve a first characterization of the effects of the gut microbiota on the brain physiology and social behaviour of the honey bee, a social insect for which the gut microbiota is well-characterized and experimental protocols to produce microbiota-depleted bees and bees harbouring any desired combination of gut microbes have previously been established. The gut microbiota – brain axis has drawn tremendous amounts of scientific and lay-public attention in recent years as an increasing number of studies are pinpointing microbial roles in neurodegenerative diseases and behavioural dysfunction. However, an integrated approach to unravel the proximate mechanisms of host-brain-symbiont interaction had not yet been pursued in social insects, whose complex social behaviours are second only to human behaviours.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Gut microbes are known to affect the neurophysiology of their hosts and genome sequencing now easily allows metabolic characterization of elusive microbial diversity that cannot be cultured. While investigations on the neurological and behavioural consequences of mammalian gut symbionts have grown exponentially in recent years, little is known about the ‘gut microbiota–brain axis’ in insects of major economic interest. The applicant is a molecular evolutionary ecologist who previously used gene expression data to predict physiological modifications in the honeybee after insemination and published a comparative analysis of bacterial symbionts across ants. He now aims to realize an inter-disciplinary program to map the neurological and behavioural extended phenotypes of gut symbionts in bees. Through experimental approaches of microbiome manipulation, neurotranscriptomics, behavioural-tracking, FISH, and isotope-labelling of bacterial metabolites, the project seeks to understand: (i) the extent to which Apis mellifera gut symbionts affect host brain function by identifying the specific bacteria, their metabolic products, and the brain regions involved in host-symbiont interactions, and (ii) assess whether these processes affect behavioural traits relevant for the social organization of bees. None of these objectives have been addressed before and achieving them has high potential to change the way in which biologists think about bacterial symbioses and animal behaviour. The project includes training-through-research for the applicant in microbiology, behavioural ecology, microscopy and bioinformatics, and considerable knowledge transfer in transcriptomics and conceptual symbiosis theory from the applicant to the host groups. Although challenging in its ambitions, the project is synergistic and feasible, and will allow the European Research Area to harvest tangible benefits to improve the health of a domesticated species of primary importance to secure food production.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITE DE LAUSANNE · LAUSANNECoordinatorSwitzerland
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union