Molecular Genetics of Paramecium Chemoreceptors

草履虫被比作游动的神经元，它们是对外源化学刺激敏感的受体细胞的例子。PI为草履虫的化学接受研究奠定了基础，在这一点上，已经确定了叶酸和cAMP刺激的推定化学受体蛋白。从化学感觉转导的研究开始，就使用了遗传方法。在这些研究中，突变体被大量用于量化对刺激的行为反应，描述导致吸引和排斥的游泳机制，识别和表征配体-受体结合后的膜电反应，以及描述结合蛋白，包括两种引诱刺激的化学受体。现在，PI将分子遗传学技术应用于化学接受研究的阶段已经确定。这位PI打算在南加州大学的休假年里训练自己在分子遗传学方面的技能。她的目标是克隆cAMP基因和可能的叶酸结合蛋白基因，这些蛋白是化学感受器的候选基因，并将分子遗传学技术带回她在弗吉尼亚大学的实验室。最终的结果将是将强大的技术应用于对他们来说成熟的问题，为PI提供最先进的技术培训，总的来说，提高PI实验室的未来方向和生产力。

Paramecia have been likened to swimming neurons and they serve as examples of receptor cells that are sensitive to exogenous chemical stimuli. The PI has laid the ground work in the study of chemoreception in Paramecium to the point where there are putative chemoreceptor proteins identified for the stimuli folate and cAMP. A genetic approach has been used from the very beginning of these studies of chemosensory transduction. Mutants figured heavily from the theses studies to quantify the behavioral responses to stimuli, to describe the swimming mechanisms that led to attraction and repulsion, to identify and characterize the membrane electrical responses that follow ligand-receptor binding and to describe the binding proteins including the chemoreceptors for two attractant stimuli. The stage is now set for the PI to apply the techniques of molecular genetics to the study of chemoreception. The PI proposes to train herself in molecular genetics during a sabbatical year at USC. The goal will be to clone the genes for the cAMP and possibly folate binding proteins that are candidates for chemoreceptors and to bring the technique of molecular genetics back to her laboratory at UVM. The end result will be to apply powerful techniques to a problem ripe for them, to provide training in state-of-the-art techniques for the PI, and in general, to improve the future directions and productivity of the PI's laboratory.