Molecular mechanisms and genetic architecture of sexual attractiveness.

性吸引力的分子机制和遗传结构。

• 批准号: 8504180
• 负责人: SCOTT PLETCHER
• 金额: $ 30.05万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-04-01 至 2017-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8504180
• 关键词: Accounting; Aging; Animal Communication; Animals; Architecture; Behavior; Behavioral; Biological Assay; Biological Models; Canis familiaris; Characteristics; Chemicals; Critical Pathways; Cues; Data; Defect; Development; Diabetes Mellitus; Diagnosis; Disease; Disease Pathway; Down-Regulation; Drosophila genus; Drosophila melanogaster; Early Diagnosis; Enzymes; Evolution; Face; Female; Fertility; Gene Expression; Genetic; Genetic Variation; Genotype; Goals; Health; Heart Diseases; Homeostasis; Human; Hydrocarbons; Individual; Insulin; Insulin Signaling Pathway; Link; Longevity; Malignant Neoplasms; Measures; Metabolic Pathway; Methods; Molecular; Molecular Genetics; Molecular Profiling; Nature; Organism; Other Genetics; Ovarian; Partner in relationship; Pathway interactions; Perception; Phenotype; Pheromone; Physiological; Population; Process; Production; Rattus; Regulation; Reproduction; Reproductive Health; Research; Signal Transduction; Sirolimus; Smell Perception; Somatomedins; System; Testing; Training; Transcriptional Regulation; Tuberculosis; Up-Regulation; Variant; Work; base; detection of nutrient; fitness; genetic manipulation; innovation; insight; insulin signaling; male; nutrient metabolism; preference; reproductive; reproductive function; research study; sensory system; trait

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): What makes individuals attractive and why do we have the preferences that we do? Effective indicators of sexual attractiveness must be an honest reflection of an individual's health and reproductive potential and as such, must be linked at the molecular level to the key fitness parameters that they represent. However, very few studies have identified specific molecular relationships that link attractive traits to the pathways that influence reproductive fitness. Our preliminary data establish that: (i) both aging and the insulin signaling pathway modulate the production of specific chemical pheromones in Drosophila (a.ka., cuticular hydrocarbons) through transcriptional regulation of key enzymes involved in hydrocarbon synthesis, (ii) that these changes cause alterations in animal sexual attractiveness, and (iii) mechanisms underlying these effects may also involve a second nutrient-sensing pathway, the TOR pathway. Based on these data, we hypothesize that certain attractive traits may represent conspicuous extensions of molecular pathways that are critical for determining fitness. We will test this hypothesis by dissecting the immediate molecular links between insulin signaling and TOR activity, pheromone composition, reproductive function, and sexual attractiveness in Drosophila. We will also investigate the impact of these links on genetic variation in natural populations. This work is important because an understanding of molecular links leading from genotype to attractiveness, and the selective forces acting on them, would open the door for a more detailed analysis of the evolution of mate choice and provide insight into mechanisms underlying the physiological constraints that drive trait evolution. Our approach is innovative because it combines targeted genetic manipulations with measures of behavior to identify molecular underpinnings of links between mate quality, nutrient-sensing, and sexual attractiveness. We will then ask whether these mechanisms can also account for natural variation. In other words, we will be able to assess the extent to which what we discover in the lab is relevant in the field. Our research will further our understanding of two important nutrient sensing pathways that are implicated in many human illnesses, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Furthermore, these studies may reveal molecular signatures of metabolic pathways that can be used as indicators in early diagnosis of disease, and they may foreshadow the development of accurate and cheap early detection of disease by chemosensory methods.

描述（由申请人提供）： 是什么让个人具有吸引力？为什么我们会有这样的偏好？性吸引力的有效指标必须真实反映个人的健康和生殖潜力，因此必须在分子水平上与其所代表的关键健康参数联系起来。然而，很少有研究发现将有吸引力的特征与影响生殖健康的途径联系起来的特定分子关系。我们的初步数据表明：（i）衰老和胰岛素信号通路通过参与碳氢化合物合成的关键酶的转录调节来调节果蝇中特定化学信息素（又名表皮碳氢化合物）的产生，（ii）这些变化会导致动物性吸引力的改变，并且（iii）这些影响背后的机制也可能涉及第二个营养感知途径，即 TOR 途径。基于这些数据，我们假设某些有吸引力的特征可能代表了对于确定适应性至关重要的分子途径的显着延伸。我们将通过剖析果蝇胰岛素信号传导与 TOR 活性、信息素组成、生殖功能和性吸引力之间的直接分子联系来检验这一假设。我们还将研究这些联系对自然群体遗传变异的影响。这项工作很重要，因为了解从基因型到吸引力的分子联系，以及作用于它们的选择力，将为更详细地分析择偶进化打开大门，并深入了解驱动择偶的生理约束的潜在机制。特质进化。我们的方法是创新的，因为它将有针对性的基因操作与行为测量相结合，以确定配偶质量、营养感知和性吸引力之间联系的分子基础。然后我们会问这些机制是否也可以解释自然变异。换句话说，我们将能够评估我们在实验室中发现的内容在多大程度上与现场相关。我们的研究将进一步加深我们对两种重要营养素的理解 与许多人类疾病有关的传感途径，包括癌症、糖尿病和心脏病。此外，这些研究可能揭示代谢途径的分子特征，可用作疾病早期诊断的指标，并且它们可能预示着通过化学感应方法进行准确且廉价的疾病早期检测的发展。