RUI: Amphibian Olfaction: Morphological and Molecular Adaptation Across the Water-to-Land Transition

RUI：两栖动物嗅觉：从水到陆的过渡过程中的形态和分子适应

• 批准号: 0092070
• 负责人: John Reiss
• 金额: $ 29.42万
• 依托单位: Humboldt State University Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-06-15 至 2005-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0092070&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Amphibian; Olfaction; Morphological; Molecular

Amphibian metamorphosis provides a unique opportunity to understand the changes necessary to adapt from an aquatic to a terrestrial environment. Within a single lifetime, an amphibian must undergo structural and physiological changes that allow it to make the transition that took our ancestors millions of years. The goal of this project is to determine the structural and molecular features of the amphibian nose that adapt it to smelling in air vs. water. In this study, the detailed structure of the nose in larvae and adults of a representative salamander, caecilian, and frog, and lungfish (the closet living relative of tetrapods) will be examined by histology, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the genes that code for odorant receptor proteins (the proteins that actually bind and respond to smells) will be cloned from each of these species and the stages and regions of the nose in which the genes are expressed determined. Finally, experiments with vital dyes will be used to determine which regions of the nose are exposed to water vs. air in living animals. The results from this study will provide the first broad overview of metamorphic changes in the amphibian olfactory system, and of adaptations of the adult nose for smelling water. This research will significantly enhance our understanding of the changes in the olfactory system that occurred in the ancestry of amphibians, and thus in our own ancestry; in addition, this research at an undergraduate institution (RUI) will provide an important opportunity for undergraduate to gain the experience, skills and perspective needed to attract them to, and prepare them for, a career in science.

两栖动物的变态提供了一个独特的机会来了解从水生环境适应陆地环境所需的变化。 在一生中，两栖动物必须经历结构和生理变化，以使其能够完成我们祖先花费数百万年的转变。 该项目的目标是确定两栖动物鼻子的结构和分子特征，使其适应空气和水中的气味。 在这项研究中，将通过组织学、扫描电子显微镜和透射电子显微镜检查代表性蝾螈、蚓螈、青蛙和肺鱼（四足动物的近亲）的幼虫和成虫的鼻子的详细结构。 此外，编码气味受体蛋白（实际结合并响应气味的蛋白质）的基因将从每个物种中克隆出来，并确定基因表达的鼻子阶段和区域。 最后，将使用活体染料进行实验来确定活体动物鼻子的哪些区域暴露于水和空气。 这项研究的结果将首次全面概述两栖动物嗅觉系统的变质变化以及成年鼻子对嗅水的适应。 这项研究将显着增强我们对两栖动物祖先以及我们自己的祖先中发生的嗅觉系统变化的理解；此外，这项在本科院校（RUI）进行的研究将为本科生提供一个重要的机会，让他们获得吸引他们从事科学事业并为其做好准备所需的经验、技能和观点。