This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Studies of model organisms can result in important insights into the molecular mechanisms responsible for human aggression disorders. One candidate organism for such studies is the ant Messor pergandei. Queens exhibit predictable aggressive behaviors that can be readily elicited and easily quantified. There are three distinct aggressive repertoires intrinsic to queen geographic origin: 1) queens that are aggressive originally but later tolerant, 2) queens that are tolerant initially but later develop extreme aggression, and 3) queens that are always tolerant. Because the molecular mechanisms resulting in aggression appear to be evolutionarily conserved between insects and mammals, these queens could serve as an important model organism to study the molecular bases of aggression. Using the UVM/VGN proteomics facility, we plan to investigate which proteins are differentially expressed between aggressive and non-aggressive queens, and to identify them with mass spectometry. Although the project is not yet complete, we have demonstrated that a significant proportion of proteins present in M. pergandei queens can be identified using the honeybee genome (Apis mellifera) as a reference database. This suggests that mass spectometry can be an informative technique even when other proteomic resources for a particular species are not available. Over the next two months, we will be conducting comparative studies of the three queen types to identify putative proteins involved in mediating aggression.
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