DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Olfactory reproductive isolating mechanisms in swordtail fishes

论文研究：剑尾鱼的嗅觉生殖隔离机制

• 批准号: 1210324
• 负责人: Gil Rosenthal
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: Texas A&M University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-08-15 至 2014-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1210324&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Olfactory; reproductive; isolating

Swordtails (Xiphophorus) are live-bearing fishes native to Central America and they are excellent models for studying animal behavior, especially mate choice. In many swordtails, males have an elongated ornament on their tail fins called a "sword", which has evolved in response to female mating preferences. Females also prefer the smell (pheromone) of males of their own species. Recent studies revealed that olfactory preference is either positively or negatively affected by early learning experience, depending on the species. X. malinche, for example, dislike the familiar male smell while its sister species X. birchmanni prefers it. Animals smell thanks to olfactory cells in their noses, which express odorant receptor genes, each specific to a particular set of molecules. There are about 200 types of odorant receptor genes in a Xiphophorus. This study will use high-throughput DNA sequencing to look at how many copies of each odorant receptor gene are expressed in the fish exposed to different adult species early in life. By comparing the expression patterns across the three experimental groups, we will try to pinpoint candidate receptors that are specialized for detecting species-specific pheromone cues. Broader impacts: This study can help us understand how learning and brain development work at a molecular level. During this project, one to two undergraduate students will be trained in biological computing and programming. Popular articles will continue to be contributed to Fishchum (http://fishchum.okstate.edu/), a web platform connecting fish biologists and aquarists. The findings from these studies will reach a multilingual audience as articles will be written in English, Chinese and Spanish and some findings will be used for outreach via popular hobbyist websites and/or magazines.

剑尾鱼（剑尾鱼）是原产于中美洲的活鱼，它们是研究动物行为（尤其是配偶选择）的绝佳模型。在许多剑尾鱼中，雄性的尾鳍上有一个细长的装饰物，称为“剑”，这是为了响应雌性的交配偏好而进化的。雌性也更喜欢同种雄性的气味（信息素）。最近的研究表明，嗅觉偏好会受到早期学习经历的积极或消极影响，具体取决于物种。例如，X. malinche 不喜欢熟悉的雄性气味，而它的姐妹物种 X. birchmanni 则更喜欢它。动物通过鼻子中的嗅觉细胞来闻气味，这些嗅觉细胞表达气味受体基因，每个基因都针对一组特定的分子。剑鱼中有大约 200 种气味受体基因。这项研究将使用高通量 DNA 测序来观察在生命早期接触过不同成年物种的鱼中每种气味受体基因的表达数量。通过比较三个实验组的表达模式，我们将尝试找出专门用于检测物种特异性信息素线索的候选受体。更广泛的影响：这项研究可以帮助我们了解学习和大脑发育如何在分子水平上发挥作用。在该项目期间，一到两名本科生将接受生物计算和编程方面的培训。热门文章将继续贡献给 Fishchum (http://fishchum.okstate.edu/)，这是一个连接鱼类生物学家和水族爱好者的网络平台。这些研究的结果将传达给多语言受众，因为文章将以英语、中文和西班牙语撰写，一些研究结果将通过流行的爱好者网站和/或杂志进行推广。