DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Function and Evolution of Sweet Taste Receptors in Birds

论文研究：鸟类甜味感受器的功能和进化

• 批准号: 1110487
• 负责人: Charles Davis
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Harvard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-07-01 至 2013-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1110487&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Function; Evolution; Sweet

The sense of taste is vital to an animal's survival. Current knowledge of the molecular basis of taste perception is mostly based on studies conducted on mammals, but it is unclear to what extent other vertebrates, such as birds, use similar mechanisms. From available genomic resources, it appears that part of the sweet-taste receptor is missing in birds, which raises the question of how nectar-feeders, like hummingbirds, can detect sugar. The investigators will clone candidate hummingbird taste receptors and will perform functional tests of these receptors in cell culture assays, as well as use imaging techniques to localize these taste receptors on the hummingbird tongue.Research into the sense of taste in non-model systems is important for a variety of reasons. It addresses basic questions in evolutionary biology, such as how genes lose and acquire new functions over evolutionary time. Every organism perceives the world in a unique way, through the filter of its sensory system, and understanding how these sensory systems differ can inform a variety of applications. Knowledge of bird taste abilities can be applied in developing pest control for agriculture, as well as in the formulation of appropriate diets for the pet trade or for captive breeding programs for endangered species. Many questions surrounding human diet and diet-related diseases rely on an understanding of what is palatable for humans: research into the mechanism of an alternative sweet-detection system may give novel insights into how mammalian taste functions and thus is of interest to both the flavor industry as well as to medical researchers. In addition, work on both taste and on hummingbirds has powerful outreach potential and a strong ability to engage the general public: this research will be presented in K-12 settings to introduce concepts in evolutionary biology and popularize the scientific process.

味觉对于动物的生存至关重要。 目前对味觉分子基础的了解主要基于对哺乳动物进行的研究，但尚不清楚其他脊椎动物（例如鸟类）在多大程度上使用类似的机制。从现有的基因组资源来看，鸟类似乎缺失了部分甜味受体，这提出了一个问题：像蜂鸟这样的花蜜饲养者如何检测糖。研究人员将克隆候选蜂鸟味觉受体，并在细胞培养测定中对这些受体进行功能测试，以及使用成像技术将这些味觉受体定位在蜂鸟舌头上。对非模型系统中味觉的研究非常重要由于各种原因。它解决了进化生物学中的基本问题，例如基因如何在进化过程中失去和获得新功能。 每个有机体都以独特的方式通过其感觉系统的过滤来感知世界，并且了解这些感觉系统的差异可以为各种应用提供信息。鸟类味觉能力的知识可应用于开发农业害虫防治，以及为宠物贸易或濒危物种圈养繁殖计划制定适当的饮食。围绕人类饮食和饮食相关疾病的许多问题都依赖于对人类可口性的理解：对替代甜味检测系统机制的研究可能会为哺乳动物的味觉功能提供新的见解，因此对味道和味道都感兴趣工业界以及医学研究人员。此外，关于味觉和蜂鸟的研究具有强大的推广潜力和吸引公众的强大能力：这项研究将在 K-12 环境中进行展示，以介绍进化生物学的概念并普及科学过程。