The Molecular Genetics of Male Behavior of Drosophila

果蝇雄性行为的分子遗传学

• 批准号: 0919697
• 负责人: Brigitte Dauwalder
• 金额: $ 72.46万
• 依托单位: University of Houston
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-06-01 至 2013-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0919697&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Molecular; Genetics; Male; Behavior; Drosophila

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).How the brain works is an important and complicated question. One of the many functions of the brain is to regulate complex behaviors, such as behaviors that govern the interaction among individuals. It is known that behavior is guided by both genes and the environment, and that these two influences interact closely. In addition, brain function is also regulated by hormones in ways that are not well understood. This project studies such hormone-like factors and their influence on the mating behavior of fruit flies, a model organism that has very powerful genetic and molecular tools available to experimentally test mechanisms underlying function. This allows easier examination and manipulation of these factors. Mutant flies will be made that lack them, and they will be observed to study how that changes the mating behavior of the fly. It is possible to draw general conclusions from these studies, because hormonal factors work similarly in many organisms. In addition, the project examines another important question: How these factors can get through the blood brain barrier, a cell layer that protects the brain in most higher organisms, including humans. These studies will give insight into the ways hormones affect the brain, and how this influences behavior. Ultimately, they will help to better understand how the brain works. These studies will be performed at one of the most diverse Universities in the United States that educates many students from underrepresented groups. Both undergraduate and graduate students will participate in the research and be trained in how to perform scientific studies.

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。大脑如何工作是一个重要而复杂的问题。大脑的许多功能之一是调节复杂的行为，例如控制个体之间互动的行为。众所周知，行为受基因和环境的双重影响，而且这两种影响密切相互作用。此外，大脑功能也受到激素的调节，其方式尚不清楚。该项目研究了这种类似昆虫的因素及其对果蝇交配行为的影响，果蝇是一种模式生物，具有非常强大的遗传和分子工具，可用于实验测试功能机制。这使得更容易检查和操纵这些因素。将制造出缺乏它们的突变果蝇，并观察它们以研究这如何改变果蝇的交配行为。从这些研究中可以得出一般性的结论，因为激素因素在许多生物体中起着类似的作用。此外，该项目还研究了另一个重要问题：这些因子如何穿过血脑屏障，血脑屏障是一种保护包括人类在内的大多数高等生物大脑的细胞层。这些研究将深入了解激素影响大脑的方式，以及这如何影响行为。 最终，它们将有助于更好地了解大脑是如何工作的。这些研究将在美国最多样化的大学之一进行，该大学教育了许多来自代表性不足群体的学生。本科生和研究生都将参加研究，并接受如何进行科学研究的培训。