DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Pheromone signaling and molecular dissection of olfactory neurons in red-legged salamanders

论文研究：红腿蝾螈嗅觉神经元的信息素信号传导和分子解剖

• 批准号: 1311309
• 负责人: Richard Feldhoff
• 金额: $ 1.78万
• 依托单位: University of Louisville Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-07-01 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1311309&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Pheromone; signaling; molecular

Courtship and mating in animals involves intricate sets of behaviors that often involve sensory cues. When pheromones are utilized, the receiver of the pheromone signal must detect and interpret the signal - usually relying on a sensory organ that in turn connects to areas of the brain involved in reproductive behavior. To sense and recognize protein pheromones, most vertebrates have a specialized olfactory organ, the vomeronasal organ (VNO). The VNO is composed of thousands of neurons that are finely tuned such that each neuron only recognizes a small number of possible pheromones by using a set of molecular receptors. In mouse models, nearly two decades after these receptors were first identified (and a Nobel Prize awarded), only a small number of specific pheromone:receptor pairs have been reported. In the red-legged salamander (P. shermani), as part of a unique courtship ritual, male salamanders deliver protein pheromones to females in order to enhance female receptivity. These protein pheromones were among the first to be biochemically characterized and this salamander has served as a valuable model system for studying how pheromones affect mating behavior in vertebrates. However, the specific molecular receptors in the salamander VNO that bind these pheromones remain to be identified and characterized. Using two state-of-the-art techniques - laser capture microdissection and high throughput DNA sequencing - the aim of this project is to identify the receptors that bind male pheromones in P. shermani. This study will provide novel insights into understanding the molecular mechanisms of pheromone:receptor interactions in salamanders and possibly all vertebrates (including humans). Additionally, the methodologies to be employed have never been applied to studying olfactory neurons, and may significantly advance the rate of research progress in this area of the neurosciences. Undergraduate research training is a key goal, and students will be actively included in all elements of the project.Gene date will be made available at: NCBI Genbank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank)

动物的求爱和交配涉及一系列复杂的行为，通常涉及感官线索。当使用信息素时，信息素信号的接收者必须检测和解释信号——通常依赖于感觉器官，而该感觉器官又连接到涉及生殖行为的大脑区域。为了感知和识别蛋白质信息素，大多数脊椎动物都有专门的嗅觉器官，即犁鼻器（VNO）。 VNO 由数千个经过微调的神经元组成，每个神经元通过使用一组分子受体仅识别少量可能的信息素。在小鼠模型中，在这些受体首次被发现（并获得诺贝尔奖）近二十年后，仅报道了少量特定的信息素：受体对。在红腿蝾螈（P. shermani）中，作为独特求偶仪式的一部分，雄性蝾螈向雌性蝾螈传递蛋白质信息素，以增强雌性的接受能力。这些蛋白质信息素是最先进行生化表征的，这种蝾螈已成为研究信息素如何影响脊椎动物交配行为的有价值的模型系统。然而，蝾螈 VNO 中与这些信息素结合的特定分子受体仍有待鉴定和表征。该项目的目的是利用两种最先进的技术——激光捕获显微切割和高通量 DNA 测序——识别 P. shermani 中与雄性信息素结合的受体。这项研究将为理解信息素的分子机制提供新的见解：蝾螈和可能所有脊椎动物（包括人类）的受体相互作用。此外，所采用的方法从未应用于研究嗅觉神经元，并且可能会显着提高神经科学这一领域的研究进展速度。本科生研究培训是一个关键目标，学生将积极参与该项目的所有要素。基因数据将在以下网址提供：NCBI Genbank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank)