Does the short neuropeptide F modulate appetitive decision-making in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata?

• Grant number: 24/00871-6
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: December 07, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Principal Investigator: Fábio Santos do Nascimento
• Grantee: Fábio Santos do Nascimento
• Visiting researcher: Rafael Carvalho da Silva
• Visiting researcher institution: Sorbonne Université/Su, France
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The neuropeptide F (NPF) and the short neuropeptide F (sNPF) display in invertebrates similar functions as the neuropeptide Y (NPY) in vertebrates. These peptides modulate processes such as growth, reproduction, learning, memory, and feeding. In the honeybee Apis mellifera, a social insect where workers search for food in response to colonial needs, the sNPF represents a key molecule driving foraging-related behaviors, such as food intake, sucrose sensitivity, olfactory perception, and visual memory formation. However, whether the same neuropeptide modulates appetitive decision-making in other groups, such as the Neotropical stingless bees is still unknown. This project proposes to use a set of standardized approaches to test whether sNPF modulates appetitive decision-making in a Neotropical stingless bee species. We plan to explore this subject using the stingless bee species Melipona quadrifasciata as a model organism under lab conditions. We aim to test the hypothesis that the sNPF modulates key aspects of appetitive decision-making, such as food intake, sucrose sensitivity, and spontaneous responses to floral odors in M. quadrifasciata workers. This project will be developed over five weeks in the facilities of the Laboratório de Comportamento e Ecologia de Insetos Sociais on the campus of the University of São Paulo with the support of my collaborator and previous supervisor Prof. Fabio Santos do Nascimento and his team. I will use bees in five different conditions (1) fed, (2) starved, (3) fed treated with sNPF (1µg/µl), (4) fed treated with sNPF (10µg/µl) and (5) solvent-treated. In the first experiment, I will aim to answer the following question "does sNPF affect food intake in Melipona quadrifasciata foragers?". In the second experiment, the goal is to answer "does sNPF impact appetitive sucrose responsiveness in Melipona quadrifasciata?". In the third experiment, I will aim at answering "does sNPF enhance appetitive olfactory responsiveness in Melipona quadrifasciata?". Given that sNPF signaling is expected to enhance motivation, I predict that M. quadrifasciata workers experiencing an increase in sNPF will (1) consume more sucrose, (2) will have a higher sucrose sensitivity and (3) will respond more often spontaneously when presented to floral odors. This project represents an interesting opportunity to expand our knowledge regarding sNPF signaling and its effects on appetitive-decision making in non-model organisms such as Neotropical stingless bees. (AU)