RUI: Characterization of Glutamate Receptors in the Pond Snails, Helisoma Trivolvis and Biomphalaria Glabrata

谷氨酸是一种神经递质（一种在神经元中引发信号的化学物质），对于脊椎动物和无脊椎动物的日常功能都很重要。在池塘蜗牛中，它控制着进食行为的模式，即动物使用舌状器官从基质上刮取食物。该项目的核心问题是谷氨酸如何激活和抑制某些神经元以引起定义正常进食行为的肌肉运动。为了确定谷氨酸影响哪些神经元，谷氨酸结合的受体蛋白将用可通过荧光显微镜观察的标记物（抗体）进行标记。然后将检查谷氨酸在这些标记神经元中诱导的兴奋和抑制，并评估该活动与驱动进食的已知模式活动的关系。预计用谷氨酸受体抗体标记的神经元将对谷氨酸做出反应，并在控制这些生物体的摄食方面发挥作用。了解该系统中结合谷氨酸的受体有两个重要后果：1）可以将这些受体与脊椎动物中发现的受体进行比较，以确定谷氨酸受体在进化过程中如何变化（或不变）； 2）可以更好地理解有限数量的神经元和神经递质控制进食等行为的机制。这项工作为三名将在暑期进行研究的本科生以及其他几名将在学年期间对这些项目进行论文研究的学生提供了重要的培训机会。

Glutamate is a neurotransmitter (a chemical that elicits signals in neurons) that is important for everyday function in both vertebrate and invertebrate animals. In pond snails it controls the pattern of feeding behavior, in which the animals use a tongue-like organ to scrape food from a substrate. The central questions in this project are about how glutamate activates and inhibits certain neurons to cause the muscular movements that define normal feeding behavior. To determine which neurons glutamate affects, the receptor proteins that glutamate binds to will be tagged with markers (antibodies) that can be visualized with fluorescence microscopy. The excitation and inhibition induced by glutamate in these labeled neurons will then be examined, and the relationship of this activity to known patterns activity that drive feeding will be assessed. It is expected that neurons that are labeled with glutamate receptor antibodies will respond to glutamate, and have a role in the control of feeding in these organisms. Understanding the receptors that bind glutamate in this system has two important consequences: 1) these receptors can be compared to those found in vertebrate animals to determine how glutamate receptors have changed (or not) during evolution; 2) the mechanism by which a limited number of neurons and neurotransmitters control a behavior like feeding can be better understood. The work is providing important training opportunities for three undergraduates who will conduct research during the summers, and several other students who will conduct thesis research on these projects during the academic year.