From Pheromone Receptor to Complex Mating Behavior

生物学中最基本的过程之一是确定男性和女性的性别。性别选择通常由控制性分化、生理和行为的调控基因决定。性行为特别令人感兴趣：首先，性行为在同一物种内的两性之间或/以及来自密切相关物种的同性个体之间可能存在很大差异。因此，这些行为在物种的适合性和进化成功中扮演着核心角色。其次，性行为是强健的、与生俱来的，总体上是复杂的，涉及到许多感官形式。因此，它们可以作为研究复杂神经回路的模型行为。果蝇在遗传和行为水平上是最具特征的高等动物之一。此外，视觉、化学感受和听觉的参与为从各种不同的角度研究这一行为提供了充足的机会。最近，通过鉴定雄性特有的味觉受体基因Gr68a，为雄性求爱中存在信息素受体提供了直接证据。在雄性交配仪式中，这种基因对于识别女性伴侣是必不可少的。这项研究的目的是识别和表征与雄性求爱有关的其他信息素受体；这些受体很可能在另外七个与Gr68a密切相关的Gr基因中被发现，并被认为控制着雄性求爱的其他方面。这项拟议的研究将建立一个结构和分子成分的框架，这些成分调节着大多数动物常见的基本行为。此外，它将为化学感觉输入如何被传导到大脑并与其他感觉输入整合以产生复杂的神经元电路提供新的见解。招收研究生和本科生的努力非常成功(梅斯特和麦克尼利两名本科生在2001年共同撰写了一篇论文)。目前，一名博士后、三名研究生和五名本科生在PI的实验室工作。研究结果通过国际期刊和科学会议上的出版物传播。此外，主流媒体也对此进行了报道，包括BBC(领先，广播科学新闻节目)。

One of the most fundamental processes in biology is the establishment of the male and female gender. Gender choice is generally determined by regulatory genes controlling sexual differentiation, physiology and behavior. Sexual behaviors are of particular interest: first, they can vary widely between the two sexes within a species or/and between same-sex individuals from closely related species. Consequently, these behaviors play a central role in the fitness and evolutionary success of a species. Second, sexual behaviors are robust, innate and in general complex, involving many sensory modalities. Therefore, they can serve as model behaviors for investigations into complex neural circuits. Drosophila represents one of the best-characterized higher animals at the genetic and behavioral level. Moreover, the involvement of vision, chemoreception and audition offers ample opportunity to study this behavior from a variety of different angles. Recently, direct evidence for a pheromone receptor in male courtship was provided through the identification of a male-specific gustatory receptor gene, Gr68a. This gene is essential for the identification of a female partner during the male mating ritual. The goal of the presented study is to identify and characterize other pheromone receptors involved in male courtship; these receptors are likely to be found among the seven additional Gr genes closely related to GR68a and are proposed to control other aspects of male courtship. The proposed research will establish a framework of structural and molecular components that mediate an essential behavior common to most animals. Moreover, it will provide novel insights into how chemosensory inputs are transduced to the brain and integrated with other sensory inputs to generate a complex neuronal circuit. Efforts to recruit graduate and undergraduate are very successful (two undergrads, Meister and McNealy, co-authored a paper in 2001). Currently, a postdoc, three graduate and five undergraduate students are working in the PI's lab. Findings are disseminated through publications in international journals and scientific conferences. Moreover, they have also been reported in mainstream media, including BBC (Leading Edge, radio science news program).