People in the Lab
Karsing Megu
Since I am a bridging Post-Doctoral fellow, means I will be working here in NCBS for period of 1 year only, my projects has been design in such a way that it can be accomplished within a year. Following are my present projects:
Publications
Since I am a bridging Post-Doctoral fellow, means I will be working here in NCBS for period of 1 year only, my projects has been design in such a way that it can be accomplished within a year. Following are my present projects:
- Study on variation in gland contents among honey bee species with a focus on mandibular glands (workers, virgin and mated queens), Nasonov glands (workers), and venom glands etc.: Honey bees primarily communicate with their gland secretions. Therefore, it becomes subject to study in recent times. However, the data on some bees for example A. andreniformis and A. laboriosa are very scanty in this regards. The study may lead to more details understanding of social behavior of bees.
- Comparative anatomy of muscle and brain or glands of some Honey bee species based on Micro-CT scanning: Micro-CT scan generates slices of images that can be reconstructed into 3D images which give contrasting views of external and internal structures. The data can be used for comparative anatomical study of organ of interest. The species identities of some honey bees are still unclear, so this work may throws light on the knowledge of difference in the bees.
- To develop working experience in specimens collection facility: My native state Arunachal Pradesh has been categorized under Biodiversity Hotspot by virtue of having enormous diversity of flora and fauna. Therefore, collection and documentation works of many Apis species still remain to be done. With a view on future prospect, the working on collection facility in NCBS may benefit me in numerous ways.
Publications
- Karsing Megu, Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow, Jharna Chakravorty (2018), An ethnographic account of the role of edible insects in the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, North-East India” Springer Nature 2018 in Edible Insects in Sustainable Food Systems, | doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-74011-9_3
Sruthi Unnikrishnan
Eusocial insects are excellent model systems to understand the evolution from simple to complex societies. Division of labour amongst members of the colony is an integral part of any eusocial society and helps in the efficient functioning of the group. I am interested in understanding the evolution of eusociality by studying the different mechanisms of division of labour used by simple and complex societies. As part of my PhD work, I studied the reproductive and non-reproductive division of labour in tropical primitively eusocial wasps. For my post-doctoral research in Axel’s lab I am now looking at division of labour in more advanced societies of honey bees. I am doing a comparative study on the age-based division of labour between three Asian honey bee species. I’m especially interested in understanding how open-nesting and cavity-nesting honey bees might differ in this aspect. I am also interested in monitoring the time dynamics of Juvenile Hormone and Vitellogenin titres in the haemolymph associated with the tasks performed by the bees in these three species.
In addition to my love of social insects, I also share a love for books, music and movies
Publications
Conference presentations
Eusocial insects are excellent model systems to understand the evolution from simple to complex societies. Division of labour amongst members of the colony is an integral part of any eusocial society and helps in the efficient functioning of the group. I am interested in understanding the evolution of eusociality by studying the different mechanisms of division of labour used by simple and complex societies. As part of my PhD work, I studied the reproductive and non-reproductive division of labour in tropical primitively eusocial wasps. For my post-doctoral research in Axel’s lab I am now looking at division of labour in more advanced societies of honey bees. I am doing a comparative study on the age-based division of labour between three Asian honey bee species. I’m especially interested in understanding how open-nesting and cavity-nesting honey bees might differ in this aspect. I am also interested in monitoring the time dynamics of Juvenile Hormone and Vitellogenin titres in the haemolymph associated with the tasks performed by the bees in these three species.
In addition to my love of social insects, I also share a love for books, music and movies
Publications
- Unnikrishnan, S., & Gadagkar, R. (2017). Dominance based reproductive queue in the primitively eusocial wasp, Ropalidia cyathiformis. Insectes Sociaux, |doi: 10.1007/s00040-017-0568-5’
- Saha, P., Nandi, A.K., Unnikrishnan, S., Shilpa, M., Shukla, S.P., Mandal, S., Mitra, A., & Gadagkar, R. (2018). A Route to Direct Fitness: Natural and Experimentally Induced Queen Succession in the Tropical Primitively Eusocial Wasp Ropalidia marginata. Journal of Insect Behavior |doi: 10.1007/s10905-017-9657-6
Conference presentations
- XVIII IUSSI International Congress (August 2018) Guaruja, Brazil
- 15th Congress of the International Society for Behavioural Ecology (August 2014) New York, USA
Divya Ramesh
I am a PhD student and my work seeks to solve a small piece of the large puzzle which is honey bee foraging. The lack of genetic tools in honey bees makes identifying specific neural networks involved in their extraordinary behavior difficult. But by being able to use a wide variety of "post-mortem" methods like mass spectrometry (MS), we are able to answer this using a series of smaller questions. Towards this goal, I have developed a sensitive MS method to quantify 14 different amines and small molecule transmitters from insect brains. MS is a highly sensitive and specific detection method and I use it to identify neurochemical changes occurring in the brains of bees as they transit through different motivational states, ranging from rest, arousal, search and foraging. Currently, the smallest tissue we can quantify from is the single pair of antennal lobes from a honey bee and 5 fruit fly heads. When not preparing samples or analyzing data, I perform theater (both improvisational and regular) or make DIY projects.
Publications
I am a PhD student and my work seeks to solve a small piece of the large puzzle which is honey bee foraging. The lack of genetic tools in honey bees makes identifying specific neural networks involved in their extraordinary behavior difficult. But by being able to use a wide variety of "post-mortem" methods like mass spectrometry (MS), we are able to answer this using a series of smaller questions. Towards this goal, I have developed a sensitive MS method to quantify 14 different amines and small molecule transmitters from insect brains. MS is a highly sensitive and specific detection method and I use it to identify neurochemical changes occurring in the brains of bees as they transit through different motivational states, ranging from rest, arousal, search and foraging. Currently, the smallest tissue we can quantify from is the single pair of antennal lobes from a honey bee and 5 fruit fly heads. When not preparing samples or analyzing data, I perform theater (both improvisational and regular) or make DIY projects.
Publications
- Ramesh D., and Brockmann A. (2018) Mass spectrometric quantification of arousal associated neurochemical changes in single honey bee brains and brain regions. This article is part of the Monitoring Molecules in Neuroscience 2018 special issue. ACS Chem. Neuro. 10(4), 1950-1959. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00254
- Sujkowski A, Ramesh D, Brockmann A, Wessells R. (2017) Octopamine drives endurance exercise adaptations in Drosophila. Cell reports | doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.10.065.
- Sturm S, Ramesh D, Brockmann A, Neupert S, Predel R. (2016) Agatoxin-like peptides in the neuroendocrine system of the honey bee and other insects. Journal of Proteomics. | doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2015.11.021
- Gordon Research Conference on "Modulation of Neural Circuits and Behavior" (June 2017) Maine, US
Poster: "Mass Spectrometry of Single Brain Neuromodulator Titers reflect Behavioral States of Foraging Honey bees" - Gordon Research Conference on "Modulation of Neural Circuits and Behavior" (June 2015) Hongkong
Attendee
Ebi Antony George
In today’s world, being able to work well in a group is a pre-requisite for success. Individuals living or moving within groups have to adapt their behaviour based on cues from other individuals in the group. At the same time, individual behaviour can drive group responses to stimuli through interactions within members of a group. This leads to a feedback loop which has further consequences for the stability of such groups. Particularly, in eusocial insect colonies, these dynamics can affect the efficient functioning of workers engaged in various tasks, thereby having a direct influence on the survival of the colony.
During the course of my Ph.D. in Axel’s lab, I have looked at the regulation of the honey bee recruitment mechanism, the waggle dance at the individual level. Through behavioural experiments, I look at how the consistency of inter-individual variation within foraging groups. I also look at how these differences can be further modulated by changing social cues. I am also trying to get a mechanistic understanding of this phenomenon with collaborators from the University of Würzburg. We are looking at both response thresholds and genetic correlates of variation in waggle dance activity. At the same time, I’m using Agent Based Models to look at various parameters that are sufficient to explain the inter-individual differences observed in my experimental data.
Apart from my main Ph.D. project, I’m also involved in other projects related to the waggle dance behaviour, specifically involving comparative studies across Apis species found in India.
When I’m not looking at honeybee dance videos, I would be either reading fiction, clicking abstract photos, writing morose poetry or playing PC games.
You can find out more about me at my website.
Publications
Talk
In today’s world, being able to work well in a group is a pre-requisite for success. Individuals living or moving within groups have to adapt their behaviour based on cues from other individuals in the group. At the same time, individual behaviour can drive group responses to stimuli through interactions within members of a group. This leads to a feedback loop which has further consequences for the stability of such groups. Particularly, in eusocial insect colonies, these dynamics can affect the efficient functioning of workers engaged in various tasks, thereby having a direct influence on the survival of the colony.
During the course of my Ph.D. in Axel’s lab, I have looked at the regulation of the honey bee recruitment mechanism, the waggle dance at the individual level. Through behavioural experiments, I look at how the consistency of inter-individual variation within foraging groups. I also look at how these differences can be further modulated by changing social cues. I am also trying to get a mechanistic understanding of this phenomenon with collaborators from the University of Würzburg. We are looking at both response thresholds and genetic correlates of variation in waggle dance activity. At the same time, I’m using Agent Based Models to look at various parameters that are sufficient to explain the inter-individual differences observed in my experimental data.
Apart from my main Ph.D. project, I’m also involved in other projects related to the waggle dance behaviour, specifically involving comparative studies across Apis species found in India.
When I’m not looking at honeybee dance videos, I would be either reading fiction, clicking abstract photos, writing morose poetry or playing PC games.
You can find out more about me at my website.
Publications
- George E.A., Broeger A.-K., Thamm M., Brockmann A., and Scheiner R. (2019) Inter-individual variation in honey bee dance intensity correlates with expression of the foraging gene. Genes, Brain and Behavior. epub ahead of print| doi: 10.1111/gbb.12592
- George E.A., A Brockmann, (2019) Social modulation of individual differences in dance communication in honey bees. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 73:41|doi:0.1007/s00265-019-2649-0
- Chatterjee A., George E.A., Prabhudev M.V., Basu P., and Brockmann A. (2019 ) Honey bees flexibly use two navigational memories when updating dance distance information. Journal of Experimental Biology. epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1242/jeb.195099
- Kohl P.L., Thulasi N., Rutschmann B., George E.A., Steffen-Dewenter I., and Brockmann A. (2020) Adaptive evolution of honeybee dance dialects. Proceedings of the Royal Society London B 287:20200190. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0190
- George E.A., Pimplikar S., Thulasi N., and Brockmann A. (2020) Similarities in the behaviour of dance followers among honey bee species suggest a conserved mechanism of dance communication. Animal Behaviour 169: 139-155. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.09.011
Talk
- XVIII IUSSI International Congress | August 2018 | Guarujá, Brazil
- Behaviour 2017 | July 2017 | Estoril, Portugal
- India – Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Conference | March 2016 | Corbett, India
- National Conference on Ethology and Evolution | October 2015 | IISER Mohali
- ASAB Summer Conference | August 2019 | Konstanz, Germany
- Conference on Collective Behaviour | May 2018 | Trieste, Italy
- 16th Congress of International Society for Behavioural Ecology | July 2016 | Exeter, UK
- XVII IUSSI International Congress | July 2014 | Cairns, Australia
- Being Social | June 2013 | IISc, Bangalore
Hemalatha B
I am interested in social regulation of insect collective behaviour. During my PhD I studied Asian honey bee Apis florea. Compared to Western honey bee Apis mellifera, Apis florea nest is made up of comb and the bee-curtain. I studied the bee-curtain and described it as a self-assembled living structure encompass bees of all the age groups. I also found that the bee-curtain is a dynamic living structure performs massed flights collectively by the nest members. The bee-curtain impedes tracking of the workers’ within nest task schedule. So for the first time I studied the nursing behaviour and found that there are interesting differences in the age polyethism ( individuals changes the labour work with the age) of different honey bee species.
Apart from the work with honey bees, I like dancing to music and my favorite is classical ballet and jazz. I do a lot of other activities like callanatics and pilates, swimming, cooking and rarely sketching.
Publications
I am interested in social regulation of insect collective behaviour. During my PhD I studied Asian honey bee Apis florea. Compared to Western honey bee Apis mellifera, Apis florea nest is made up of comb and the bee-curtain. I studied the bee-curtain and described it as a self-assembled living structure encompass bees of all the age groups. I also found that the bee-curtain is a dynamic living structure performs massed flights collectively by the nest members. The bee-curtain impedes tracking of the workers’ within nest task schedule. So for the first time I studied the nursing behaviour and found that there are interesting differences in the age polyethism ( individuals changes the labour work with the age) of different honey bee species.
Apart from the work with honey bees, I like dancing to music and my favorite is classical ballet and jazz. I do a lot of other activities like callanatics and pilates, swimming, cooking and rarely sketching.
Publications
- Bhagavan H. and Brockmann A. (2019) Apis florea workers show a prolonged period of nursing behaviour, Apidology |doi: 10.1007/s13592-018-0618-7
- Bhagavan H., Muthamann O.,Brockmann A. (2016) Structural and temporal dynamics of the bee curtain in the open-nesting honeybee species, Apis florea. Apidology |doi:10.1007/s13592-016-0428-8
Aridni Shah
The Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) was the first species to demonstrate that animals possess a sense of time. Honey bee foragers learn not only the colour, odour and location of a flower but also the time when it provides nectar. The foraging behaviour of honey bees is a very robust behaviour and their extreme motivation to revisit a known food source opened the possibility to train bees to forage at artificial feeders. Taking advantage of this phenomena, we can ask questions about how learning and memory processes operate in a natural context, something that cannot be done with other major model systems.
In the lab I am trying to use this behaviour and training regime to understand what molecules and signalling pathways may be involved in learning and memory, with a focus on time-memory. So far, we have identified a transcription factor, Egr-1, that might be crucial for foraging as well as foraging related time-memory. This gene is upregulated whenever the bees are actively foraging or at the trained time even in absence of foraging. Now I am trying to understand what factors might be responsible for the time-dependent upregulation of Egr-1.
I believe in understanding science from a holistic view, integrating different fields of biology to answer a question. For my current project, I am integrating the different fields of behaviour, neurobiology, cell signalling, molecular biology and neuroanatomy to answer my question.
Publications
Conference presentations
The Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) was the first species to demonstrate that animals possess a sense of time. Honey bee foragers learn not only the colour, odour and location of a flower but also the time when it provides nectar. The foraging behaviour of honey bees is a very robust behaviour and their extreme motivation to revisit a known food source opened the possibility to train bees to forage at artificial feeders. Taking advantage of this phenomena, we can ask questions about how learning and memory processes operate in a natural context, something that cannot be done with other major model systems.
In the lab I am trying to use this behaviour and training regime to understand what molecules and signalling pathways may be involved in learning and memory, with a focus on time-memory. So far, we have identified a transcription factor, Egr-1, that might be crucial for foraging as well as foraging related time-memory. This gene is upregulated whenever the bees are actively foraging or at the trained time even in absence of foraging. Now I am trying to understand what factors might be responsible for the time-dependent upregulation of Egr-1.
I believe in understanding science from a holistic view, integrating different fields of biology to answer a question. For my current project, I am integrating the different fields of behaviour, neurobiology, cell signalling, molecular biology and neuroanatomy to answer my question.
Publications
- Shah, A., Jain, R., Brockmann, A. (2018) Egr-1: A Candidate Transcription Factor Involved in Molecular Processes Underlying Time-Memory. Frontiers in Psychology. 05 June 2018 | doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00865
- Singh, A. S., Shah, A., and Brockmann, A. (2017) Honey bee foraging induces upregulation of early growth response protein 1, hormone receptor 38 and candidate downstream genes of the ecdysteroid signalling pathway. Insect Molecular Biology| doi: 10.1111/imb.12350
Conference presentations
- Cold Spring Harbor meeting on Biology and Genomics of Social Insects (May 2018)
Talk: "Egr-1, a candidate molecular player involved in time-related learning and memory processes in honey bees ?"
- Gordon Research Conference on Chronobiology (July 2017)
Poster: "Brain Gene Expression Changes During Daily Foraging in Honey bees"
Arumoy Chatterjee
Communication is essential to each and every life form. It intrigues me to wonder how communication systems have evolved in different ways, from microscopic bacterial bioluminescence to human language. I am an experimental neuro-ethologist, trying to understand the mechanisms of information transfer in honey bees.
Honey bees use visual odometry and the sun compass to estimate flight distance and direction and navigate accurately and repeatedly to a food source. Foragers encode the navigation information in the “waggle dance” to communicate their nest-mates about the location of food sources. This dance behavior makes the honey bees unique among all animals since the dance conveys us spatial information where the bees have foraged.
With help of behavioral experiments, I perturb the synchrony between the navigation information and communicated information in honey bees. I look at how individual honey bees learn and communicate new spatial information in the “waggle dance”. Also, I examine differences among individual foragers in this process. Further, I collaborate with molecular biologists to investigate the underlying mechanisms of foraging and dance behavior in individual bee brains.
At leisure, I find my interests in beekeeping, listening and singing Indian folk music, reading mythological and atheistic literature, and cooking.
Publications
Conference presentations
Communication is essential to each and every life form. It intrigues me to wonder how communication systems have evolved in different ways, from microscopic bacterial bioluminescence to human language. I am an experimental neuro-ethologist, trying to understand the mechanisms of information transfer in honey bees.
Honey bees use visual odometry and the sun compass to estimate flight distance and direction and navigate accurately and repeatedly to a food source. Foragers encode the navigation information in the “waggle dance” to communicate their nest-mates about the location of food sources. This dance behavior makes the honey bees unique among all animals since the dance conveys us spatial information where the bees have foraged.
With help of behavioral experiments, I perturb the synchrony between the navigation information and communicated information in honey bees. I look at how individual honey bees learn and communicate new spatial information in the “waggle dance”. Also, I examine differences among individual foragers in this process. Further, I collaborate with molecular biologists to investigate the underlying mechanisms of foraging and dance behavior in individual bee brains.
At leisure, I find my interests in beekeeping, listening and singing Indian folk music, reading mythological and atheistic literature, and cooking.
Publications
- Making honey bees lie: experimental dissociation of flight experience and dance communication
Arumoy Chatterjee, Prabhudev MV, Ebi Antony George, Pallab Basu, Axel Brockmann | https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/02/20/268292
Conference presentations
- 16th Congress of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology (July 2016) Exeter, UK
Manal Shakeel
I am interested in animal behaviour and behaviour ecology, especially foraging related decision-making. In order to survive, insects need to find food in a highly cluttered world. In our lab, we have established a set up to study sugar-elicited search behaviour, a particular form of local search. A typical local search is initiated when a hungry fly consumes a small amount of sugar solution and starts walking around it, looking for more food. The behaviour is characterized by highly convoluted loops with frequent and accurate returns to the location of sugar drop. Our experiments show that flies make precise returns to the location of the sugar drop, even in the absence of visual and chemosensory information. This indicates that search behaviour involves idiothetic (self-motion) cues; that is the fly is able to estimate its current position with respect to the position of the drop, the starting position of the search, as a reference and perform path integration. In order to generate idiothetic information the animal needs to keep track of its body movements in space i.e. distance and direction, which is achieved through proprioceptive inputs. Therefore, I am presently studying the effect of perturbing proprioceptive feedback on the search behaviour. I am also investigating if flies use stride information during walking for path integration. Next, we would study how navigation during search is controlled in the central complex, the brain region which integrates a wide range of sensory signals with spatial orientation and maintains heading. Furthermore, I would like to explore the role of visual landmarks in guiding navigation during the local search. I am currently working on a setup to test learning by training the flies with array of landmarks.
Outside lab I like to read, travel, and occasionally dabble in art, music and theatre.
Publications:
I am interested in animal behaviour and behaviour ecology, especially foraging related decision-making. In order to survive, insects need to find food in a highly cluttered world. In our lab, we have established a set up to study sugar-elicited search behaviour, a particular form of local search. A typical local search is initiated when a hungry fly consumes a small amount of sugar solution and starts walking around it, looking for more food. The behaviour is characterized by highly convoluted loops with frequent and accurate returns to the location of sugar drop. Our experiments show that flies make precise returns to the location of the sugar drop, even in the absence of visual and chemosensory information. This indicates that search behaviour involves idiothetic (self-motion) cues; that is the fly is able to estimate its current position with respect to the position of the drop, the starting position of the search, as a reference and perform path integration. In order to generate idiothetic information the animal needs to keep track of its body movements in space i.e. distance and direction, which is achieved through proprioceptive inputs. Therefore, I am presently studying the effect of perturbing proprioceptive feedback on the search behaviour. I am also investigating if flies use stride information during walking for path integration. Next, we would study how navigation during search is controlled in the central complex, the brain region which integrates a wide range of sensory signals with spatial orientation and maintains heading. Furthermore, I would like to explore the role of visual landmarks in guiding navigation during the local search. I am currently working on a setup to test learning by training the flies with array of landmarks.
Outside lab I like to read, travel, and occasionally dabble in art, music and theatre.
Publications:
- Brockmann A, Basu P, Shakeel M, Murata S, Murashima N, Boyapati RK, Prabhu NG, Herman JJ, Tanimura T (2018) Sugar intake elicits intelligent searching behavior in flies and honey bees. Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience| doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00280
- Structure and Function of the Insect Central Complex, (October 2018) Janelia Research Campus, HHMI, USA
Talk: " "
- Junior Scientist Workshop on Mechanistic Cognitive Neuroscience (October 2018)
Janelia Research Campus, HHMI, USA
Prabhudev M V
I am working on comparative biology of Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa, two important wild species of giant honey bees. A.laboriosa is mostly endemic to the mountainous regions of the Himalayas. A few comparative studies performed so far suggest that both species differ in many aspects but still the biology of these closely related honey bees is poorly understood. I have taken different approaches to systematically explore the possible adaptations in these honey bees.One of them is quantification of morphological differences including the peripheral visual system.The other approach is antennal transcriptomics to determine the probable role of olfactory system in the local adaptations.
Publications
I am working on comparative biology of Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa, two important wild species of giant honey bees. A.laboriosa is mostly endemic to the mountainous regions of the Himalayas. A few comparative studies performed so far suggest that both species differ in many aspects but still the biology of these closely related honey bees is poorly understood. I have taken different approaches to systematically explore the possible adaptations in these honey bees.One of them is quantification of morphological differences including the peripheral visual system.The other approach is antennal transcriptomics to determine the probable role of olfactory system in the local adaptations.
Publications
- Making honey bees lie: experimental dissociation of flight experience and dance communication
Arumoy Chatterjee, Prabhudev MV, Ebi Antony George, Pallab Basu, Axel Brockmann | https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/02/20/268292
Rikesh Jain
Honey bee foragers are capable to learn the time of nectar availability in flowers and synchronize their daily activity rhythm accordingly, visiting a food source only when it is most profitable. This time memory and daily foraging rhythm of bees is driven by endogenous clock. I am interested in understanding how the food time affect the endogenous clock and eventually the daily activity rhythm in honey bees. Recently, I could demonstrate that the honey bee foragers visiting a feeder at different times of the day, either in the morning or afternoon, show phase-differences in the daily clock genes expression rhythms. This result suggested that foraging time may function as a Zeitgeber (time-giver) in honey bees.
I am also interested in the circadian regulation of olfactory transduction in insects. There are evidences that responses to biologically meaningful olfactory cues show diurnal fluctuations. For example, mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae) have higher olfactory sensitivity towards host-derived odorants during the night compare to other times of the day. I am trying to understand the molecular mechanisms behind these circadian olfactory responses using the honeybee drone (male) olfactory system. Honey bee mating behavior is regulated by the circadian clock, i.e. at the specific time of the day the drones of particular species fly out to the congregation area and search for the queen. There are evidences in other insects suggesting that not only mating behavior itself but also physiological processes related to mating behavior such as olfactory response to sex pheromones, are regulated by the circadian clock. I have been analyzing the changes in antennal transcriptome (and microRNAs) of drones with respect to mating time to identify the genes involved in regulation of the rhythmic olfactory transduction.
PUBLICATIONS
CONFERENCES
Honey bee foragers are capable to learn the time of nectar availability in flowers and synchronize their daily activity rhythm accordingly, visiting a food source only when it is most profitable. This time memory and daily foraging rhythm of bees is driven by endogenous clock. I am interested in understanding how the food time affect the endogenous clock and eventually the daily activity rhythm in honey bees. Recently, I could demonstrate that the honey bee foragers visiting a feeder at different times of the day, either in the morning or afternoon, show phase-differences in the daily clock genes expression rhythms. This result suggested that foraging time may function as a Zeitgeber (time-giver) in honey bees.
I am also interested in the circadian regulation of olfactory transduction in insects. There are evidences that responses to biologically meaningful olfactory cues show diurnal fluctuations. For example, mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae) have higher olfactory sensitivity towards host-derived odorants during the night compare to other times of the day. I am trying to understand the molecular mechanisms behind these circadian olfactory responses using the honeybee drone (male) olfactory system. Honey bee mating behavior is regulated by the circadian clock, i.e. at the specific time of the day the drones of particular species fly out to the congregation area and search for the queen. There are evidences in other insects suggesting that not only mating behavior itself but also physiological processes related to mating behavior such as olfactory response to sex pheromones, are regulated by the circadian clock. I have been analyzing the changes in antennal transcriptome (and microRNAs) of drones with respect to mating time to identify the genes involved in regulation of the rhythmic olfactory transduction.
PUBLICATIONS
- Jain R and Brockmann A (2018). Time-restricted foraging under natural light/dark condition shifts the molecular clock in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Chronobiology International 35(12), 1723-1734.|doi: 10.1080/07420528.2018.1509867
- Shah A, Jain R and Brockmann A (2018). Egr-1 : A candidate transcription factor involved in molecular processes underlying time-memory. Frontiers in Psycology |doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00865
- Karpe SD, Jain R, Brockmann A and Sowdhamini R (2016). Identification of complete repertoire of Apis florea odorant receptors reveals complex orthologous relationships with Apis mellifera. Genome Biology and Evolution |doi: 10.1093/gbe/evw202
CONFERENCES
- Gordon Research Conference on Chronobiology (Vermont, USA - Jul 2017)
Talk and Poster: "Time-restricted feeding/foraging in natural conditions and clock entrainment in honey bees" - Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (Florida, USA - May 2016)
Poster: "Time-restricted foraging activity and clock gene expression in honey bees"
Swastika Konwar
Foraging in honey bee requires them to keep track when flowers of a particular species are open and secreting nectar as different flower species have different peak time of nectar secretions during the day. This time memory enables them to synchronize their behavior with floral nectar secretions rhythms and eliminates the need to rediscover productive sources every day. This remarkable memory for time is thought to be controlled by the endogenous circadian clock.
I am interested in understanding what are the molecular mechanisms underlying this time memory in foragers and how the circadian clock might be regulating this behavior. Further I also want to identify specific neuronal populations and the underlying neural circuitry governing time memory in foragers. Currently I am trying to understand if there is a circadian control on the expression of Egr1, a transcription factor that seems to be important in foraging related time memory in honey bees.
I am fond of gardening, reading, running and yoga. I love visiting new places and exploring new roads and occasionally I also enjoy indulging in craft activities.
Foraging in honey bee requires them to keep track when flowers of a particular species are open and secreting nectar as different flower species have different peak time of nectar secretions during the day. This time memory enables them to synchronize their behavior with floral nectar secretions rhythms and eliminates the need to rediscover productive sources every day. This remarkable memory for time is thought to be controlled by the endogenous circadian clock.
I am interested in understanding what are the molecular mechanisms underlying this time memory in foragers and how the circadian clock might be regulating this behavior. Further I also want to identify specific neuronal populations and the underlying neural circuitry governing time memory in foragers. Currently I am trying to understand if there is a circadian control on the expression of Egr1, a transcription factor that seems to be important in foraging related time memory in honey bees.
I am fond of gardening, reading, running and yoga. I love visiting new places and exploring new roads and occasionally I also enjoy indulging in craft activities.
Alex Johny
I am a Junior Research Fellow in the lab. Change in behavior is the first response of any individual to any external stimuli. Behavior is also the most plastic and variable trait that an organism posses. In any organism behavior is the trait that I am most interested. My research interests are rooted in the ecological drivers of behavioral traits and their adaptive significance. I am also interested in the molecular basis of behavior and inter-individual variation in behavior and cognition. Currently, I am working the molecular basis of foraging related memories in honeybees. Odour is an important cue that bees associate with a reward. Floral scents are known to induce recall of navigational and visual memories associated with foraging in honeybees. I am taking a candidate gene approach to investigate whether Egr 1, a transcription factor thought to be involved in regulating foraging – related memories of bees, play a role in the odour-induced recall of foraging memories. Further, I also plan to elucidate on the role of Egr 1 in the reward anticipatory behavior of honey bees.
In my spare time I play/watch football. I also love trekking and herping.
I am a Junior Research Fellow in the lab. Change in behavior is the first response of any individual to any external stimuli. Behavior is also the most plastic and variable trait that an organism posses. In any organism behavior is the trait that I am most interested. My research interests are rooted in the ecological drivers of behavioral traits and their adaptive significance. I am also interested in the molecular basis of behavior and inter-individual variation in behavior and cognition. Currently, I am working the molecular basis of foraging related memories in honeybees. Odour is an important cue that bees associate with a reward. Floral scents are known to induce recall of navigational and visual memories associated with foraging in honeybees. I am taking a candidate gene approach to investigate whether Egr 1, a transcription factor thought to be involved in regulating foraging – related memories of bees, play a role in the odour-induced recall of foraging memories. Further, I also plan to elucidate on the role of Egr 1 in the reward anticipatory behavior of honey bees.
In my spare time I play/watch football. I also love trekking and herping.
Anjana Dey
I am interested in animal behaviour and aspiring to be an ethologist. Here I am trying to look at a particular collective behavior of honey bees while foraging. Honeybees don't encounter heavy mechanical obstacles while foraging for nectar in nature. Here, I am creating an artificial condition, where they have to push a mechanical object in order to get food, which requires collective organization and effort
I am interested in animal behaviour and aspiring to be an ethologist. Here I am trying to look at a particular collective behavior of honey bees while foraging. Honeybees don't encounter heavy mechanical obstacles while foraging for nectar in nature. Here, I am creating an artificial condition, where they have to push a mechanical object in order to get food, which requires collective organization and effort
Deepika Bais
Behaviour was always something that caught my attention. What makes certain people tick the way they do? When you sit and observe the people around you, each one is facing some situation. There are ways in which they react, and each individual behaves in a different way. What really goes on in the brain?
When I see honey bees going about doing their tasks, how do they decide what they have to do? Each forager goes around doing the task that it’s specialised to do, and somehow all these tiny individuals function efficiently throughout their lifetimes working as a single unit. What is the underlying mechanism behind the behaviour that we see? What molecules are at play when they’re foraging? What is the reason behind the difference in the feeding behaviours between the different types of foragers? In order to find out the same, I use feeding assay developed in the lab and use mass spectrometry to determine the concentrations of the neuromodulators. I also perform drug manipulation experiments to ascertain the role of the neuromodulators.
At leisure, I can be found sitting in some corner listening to music or reading some book with a cup of coffee in my hand.
Behaviour was always something that caught my attention. What makes certain people tick the way they do? When you sit and observe the people around you, each one is facing some situation. There are ways in which they react, and each individual behaves in a different way. What really goes on in the brain?
When I see honey bees going about doing their tasks, how do they decide what they have to do? Each forager goes around doing the task that it’s specialised to do, and somehow all these tiny individuals function efficiently throughout their lifetimes working as a single unit. What is the underlying mechanism behind the behaviour that we see? What molecules are at play when they’re foraging? What is the reason behind the difference in the feeding behaviours between the different types of foragers? In order to find out the same, I use feeding assay developed in the lab and use mass spectrometry to determine the concentrations of the neuromodulators. I also perform drug manipulation experiments to ascertain the role of the neuromodulators.
At leisure, I can be found sitting in some corner listening to music or reading some book with a cup of coffee in my hand.
Neethu T
Interested in the behavioural ecology and chemical ecology in animal communication.
I am currently working on the communication behaviour of the honey bees and doing a comparative study on the dance dialects of Asian bees in two different terrains. I am interested in Apis florea dance communication as it has a different dance platform compared with other Apis species. I was curious to know how the dance differs in two different conditions like dense vegetation and open field. Further extended my studies to other species viz., A.cerana, A. dorsata and A. mellifera along with Patrick and Ebi. In addition to this, I am looking forward that how the fellow bees are following the dances and getting information before going for foraging to the advertised site.
Furthermore, I am doing a collaborative project with Dhandapany’s lab on the molecular effects of caffeine on honey bees’ heart.
Interested in the behavioural ecology and chemical ecology in animal communication.
I am currently working on the communication behaviour of the honey bees and doing a comparative study on the dance dialects of Asian bees in two different terrains. I am interested in Apis florea dance communication as it has a different dance platform compared with other Apis species. I was curious to know how the dance differs in two different conditions like dense vegetation and open field. Further extended my studies to other species viz., A.cerana, A. dorsata and A. mellifera along with Patrick and Ebi. In addition to this, I am looking forward that how the fellow bees are following the dances and getting information before going for foraging to the advertised site.
Furthermore, I am doing a collaborative project with Dhandapany’s lab on the molecular effects of caffeine on honey bees’ heart.
Rajath Naik
In eusocial insects, honeybees are most extensively studied for understanding complex social behavior but most of the behavioral studies are mainly focused on Western honeybee, Apis mellifera and there is very less work done on Asian honeybees. Thus, I’m focusing on studying various behavioral aspects of Asian honeybees especially open-nesting species; Apis florea and Apis dorsata.
We started an Urban bees project to monitor the location of the hives and record the arrival and departures of the Apis dorsata colonies in and around the Bangalore. We are also developing a “citizen science project” with web based and mobile based application system. This will not only aid us in monitor the location of the hives but also by involving the people in such a project we can bring awareness among the people about the ecological importance of honeybees.
In eusocial insects, honeybees are most extensively studied for understanding complex social behavior but most of the behavioral studies are mainly focused on Western honeybee, Apis mellifera and there is very less work done on Asian honeybees. Thus, I’m focusing on studying various behavioral aspects of Asian honeybees especially open-nesting species; Apis florea and Apis dorsata.
We started an Urban bees project to monitor the location of the hives and record the arrival and departures of the Apis dorsata colonies in and around the Bangalore. We are also developing a “citizen science project” with web based and mobile based application system. This will not only aid us in monitor the location of the hives but also by involving the people in such a project we can bring awareness among the people about the ecological importance of honeybees.
Ravi Kumar Boyapati
Search is an innate response exhibited by an organism in the natural environment, it could be for locating food source, nesting sites, and mating partner, it also depends on social or solitary living of an organism. I am currently looking at how flies and bees come back to the original site of introduction after it has fed on sucrose, a phenomenon which we define as sugar elicited search behavior, we hypothesize that path integration is the key component in making an organism come back to its original site. I will also be testing the role of visual landmarks like colors in the search paradigm. I am currently working on how flies discriminate colors, based on a series of associative learning condition.
I am a traveler, like to explore places and a nature enthusiast, photography is something which I would prefer and love to do in my free time. Badminton, cycling, running are my other favourite activities.
Publications:
Search is an innate response exhibited by an organism in the natural environment, it could be for locating food source, nesting sites, and mating partner, it also depends on social or solitary living of an organism. I am currently looking at how flies and bees come back to the original site of introduction after it has fed on sucrose, a phenomenon which we define as sugar elicited search behavior, we hypothesize that path integration is the key component in making an organism come back to its original site. I will also be testing the role of visual landmarks like colors in the search paradigm. I am currently working on how flies discriminate colors, based on a series of associative learning condition.
I am a traveler, like to explore places and a nature enthusiast, photography is something which I would prefer and love to do in my free time. Badminton, cycling, running are my other favourite activities.
Publications:
- Brockmann A, Basu P, Shakeel M, Murata S, Murashima N, Boyapati RK, Prabhu NG, Herman JJ, Tanimura T (2018) Sugar intake elicits intelligent searching behavior in flies and honey bees. Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience| doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00280