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Distribution of dopamine receptors and dopamine receptor homologs in the brain of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L.
Author(s) -
Kokay Ilona C.,
Ebert Paul R.,
Kirchhof Barbara S.,
Mercer Alison R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0029(19990115/01)44:2/3<179::aid-jemt9>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - mushroom bodies , dopamine receptor , spiperone , dopamine , honey bee , receptor , dopamine receptor d2 , biology , neuropil , microbiology and biotechnology , neuroscience , gene , genetics , zoology , central nervous system , drosophila melanogaster
In the brain of the honey bee, Apis mellifera , the radioligands [ 3 H]‐SCH23390 and [ 3 H]‐spiperone recognise D1‐ and D2‐like receptors, respectively. In addition to being pharmacologically distinct and exhibiting significantly different expression profiles during the lifetime of the bee, [ 3 H]‐SCH23390‐ and [ 3 H]‐spiperone‐binding sites differ markedly in their distribution within the brain. Estimates of [ 3 H]‐SCH23390‐binding site density are highest in the somatal rind, whereas [ 3 H]‐spiperone‐binding sites are most concentrated in the beta lobe neuropil of the mushroom bodies. Molecular cloning techniques have been used to identify two honey bee genes encoding dopamine receptor homologs. The first is the honey bee counterpart of a Drosophila D1‐like dopamine receptor and is expressed in the mushroom bodies of both workers and drones. The second is related to D2‐like dopamine receptors from vertebrates and is expressed in the brain of the bee, but the precise distribution of expression is not yet known. Microsc. Res. Tech. 44:179–189, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.