Gene E. RobinsonProfessorPhD, 1986, Cornell UniversityPhone: 217-265-0309Fax: 217-244-3499 Email: generobi@uiuc.edu Robinson Lab Home Page |
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Robinson uses the honey bee, Apis mellifera, to understand the mechanisms governing social behavior. Most research is focused on one aspect of colony organization, the division of labor among workers, and the process of worker behavioral development that underlies it. Among their current interests are: 1) Social and pheromonal regulation of endocrine-mediated maturation and division of labor; 2) Changes in honey bee brain structure associated with behavioral maturation and division of labor (with the laboratory of Dr. Susan Fahrbach); 3) Changes in honey bee brain chemistry associated with behavioral development and division of labor (especially biogenic amines); 4) Learning and memory in relation to division of labor in honey bees; and 5) Sociogenomics: Genes influencing behavioral maturation and division of labor in honey bees. For more information see the Robinson Lab home page.
Representative and Recent Publications
Robinson, G.E., Grozinger, C.M. and C.W. Whitfield. 2005. Sociogenomics: Social life in molecular terms. Nature Reviews Genetics 6: 257-70.
Toth, A.L., Varala, K., Newman, T.C., Miguez, F.E., Hitchison, S.K., Willoughby, D.A., Simons, J.F., Egholm, M., Hunt, J.H., Hudson, M.E. & G.E. Robinson. 2007. Wasp brain gene expression supports an evolutionary link between maternal behavior and eusociality. Science 318: 441-444.
Barron, A.B., Maleszka, R., Helliwell, P.G. & G.E. Robinson. 2008. Effects of cocaine on honey bee dance behaviour. Journal of Experimental Biology 212:163-168.
Ament, S.A., Corona, M., Pollack, H.S. and G.E. Robinson. 2008. Insulin signaling is involved in the regulation of worker division of labor in honey bee colonies. PNAS 105: 4226-4231.
Robinson, G.E., Fernald, R.F., and D.F. Clayton. 2008. Genes and social behavior. Science 322: 896-900.
Toth, A.L., Smith, C.R., Suarez, A. and G.E. Robinson. 2008. Genetic and genomic analyses of division of labour in the insect societies. Nature Reviews Genetics 8: 735-748.
Brockmann, A., Annangudi, S.P., Richmond, T.A., Ament, S.A., Xie, F., Southey, B.R., Rodriguez-Zas, S.R., GRobinson, G.E. and J.V. Sweedler. 2009. Brain peptide signatures of behavior with quantitative peptidomics. PNAS. 106: 2383-2388.
Alaux, C., Sinha, S., Hasadsri, L., Hunt, G.J., Guzmán-Novoa, E., DeGrandi-Hoffman, G., Uribe-Rubio, J.L., Rodriguez-Zas, S. and G.E. Robinson. 2009. Honey bee aggression supports a link between gene regulation and behavioral evolution. PNAS 106: 15400-15405.
Sen Sarma, M., Rodriguez-Zas, S.L., Gernat, G., Nguyen, T., Newman, T. and G.E. Robinson. 2010. Distance responsive genes found in dancing bees. Genes, Brain and Behavior. In press.
Naeger, N.L., Van Nest, B.N., Johnson, J.N., Boyd, S.D., Rodriguez-Zas, S.L., Moore, D., and G.E. Robinson. Neurogenomic signatures of spatiotemporal memories in time-trained forager honey bees. Journal of Experimental Biology. In press.