Julia Mariette

I am a neuroethologist and physiologist interested in uncovering the neuronal and sensory mechanisms underlying social behaviours, with a particular focus on social communication in eusocial insects, the most advanced level of sociality. My research has primarily used the honey bee (Apis mellifera) as a model, due to its remarkably complex and diverse pheromonal communication system and its sophisticated social organisation based on division of labour. Using this model, I have deciphered the neural processes underlying the detection of social and sexual pheromones within the honey bee olfactory system. My work placed special emphasis on male honey bees, whose simplified and specialised olfactory system provides an ideal entry point to unravel the neuronal basis of pheromone processing. So far, my research has focused on three main directions: (1) Identification of sexual pheromones involved in reproductive behaviour in Apis mellifera. (2) Characterisation of the neural pathways responsible for detecting ecologically relevant pheromones across Apis species, and the mechanisms ensuring efficient behavioural responses (3) Establishing the neurobiological basis of division of labour in honey bees, including the development of neurogenetic tools to study neuronal processes at the whole-brain level.

Publications

Mariette, J., Carcaud, J. & Sandoz, JC. The neuroethology of olfactory sex communication in the honeybee Apis mellifera L. Cell Tissue Res 383, 177–194 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-020-03401-8

Mariette J, Noël A, Louis T, Montagné N, Chertemps T, Jacquin-Joly E, Marion-Poll F and Sandoz J-C (2023) Transcuticular calcium imaging as a tool for the functional study of insect odorant receptors. Front. Mol. Neurosci. 16:1182361. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2023.1182361

Mariette J, Carcaud, J, Louis T, Lacassagne, E, Servais, I, Montagné N, Chertemps T, Jacquin-Joly E, Meslin, C, Marion-Poll F and Sandoz J-C (2024) Evolution of queen pheromone receptor tuning in four honey bee species (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apis). iScience. 27, 12, 111243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111243

Andreu, B, Mariette, J, Delarue, A, Montagné, N, Chertemps, T, Jacquin-Joly, E, Carcaud, J and J-C, Sandoz. (2024) Two olfactory receptors tuned to social pheromones in the honey bee Apis mellifera. Submitted.