Aminergic control of aggressive behavior in social insects

Aggression is a common trait in almost all animals and one of the bases of animal sociality. It is closely linked to intraspecific conflicts, hunting, and defending offspring, among others. Social insects establish integrated groups and show various aggressions that link to colony defense, predation, social rank, reproductive hierarchy and so on. Thus, they represent excellent experimental model systems to investigate the mechanisms underlying aggressive behavior. The bio-genic amines function as neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, and neurohormones in the nervous systems, and have crucial roles in the diversification and modulation of behavior in social and solitary insects. Aggressive behaviors are mediated by aminergic systems. However, many issues about the roles of biogenic amines in social insects still deserve further study. In this scenario, the present review analyzed the roles of biogenic amines on aggressive behavior in social insects. We pro-vided insights on the biosynthesis of monoamines, we summarized current knowledge on the serotonergic, dopaminergic octopaminergic, and tyraminergic control of aggressive behavior in social insects, with a special focus on ants, bees, and termites. In the last section, we provided an updated synthesis of the role of biogenic amines in controlling aggressive behavior in social insects.