DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Function and Evolution of Sweet Taste Receptors in Birds

味觉对动物的生存至关重要。目前对味觉分子基础的了解主要是基于对哺乳动物的研究，但尚不清楚其他脊椎动物，如鸟类，在多大程度上使用类似的机制。从现有的基因组资源来看，鸟类似乎缺少部分甜味感受器，这就提出了一个问题：像蜂鸟这样的采蜜动物是如何检测到糖的？研究人员将克隆候选的蜂鸟味觉感受器，并在细胞培养试验中对这些感受器进行功能测试，同时使用成像技术在蜂鸟舌头上定位这些味觉感受器。由于各种原因，对非模型系统的味觉的研究很重要。它解决了进化生物学中的基本问题，例如基因如何在进化过程中失去和获得新功能。每一种生物都以一种独特的方式感知世界，通过其感觉系统的过滤，了解这些感觉系统的不同之处可以为各种应用提供信息。关于鸟类味觉能力的知识可以应用于发展农业害虫控制，以及为宠物贸易或濒危物种的圈养繁殖计划制定适当的饮食。围绕人类饮食和饮食相关疾病的许多问题都依赖于对人类美味的理解：对另一种甜味检测系统机制的研究可能会对哺乳动物的味觉功能提供新的见解，因此对风味工业和医学研究人员都很感兴趣。此外，对味觉和蜂鸟的研究具有强大的推广潜力和吸引公众的强大能力：这项研究将在K-12设置中介绍进化生物学的概念并普及科学过程。

The sense of taste is vital to an animal's survival. Current knowledge of the molecular basis of taste perception is mostly based on studies conducted on mammals, but it is unclear to what extent other vertebrates, such as birds, use similar mechanisms. From available genomic resources, it appears that part of the sweet-taste receptor is missing in birds, which raises the question of how nectar-feeders, like hummingbirds, can detect sugar. The investigators will clone candidate hummingbird taste receptors and will perform functional tests of these receptors in cell culture assays, as well as use imaging techniques to localize these taste receptors on the hummingbird tongue.Research into the sense of taste in non-model systems is important for a variety of reasons. It addresses basic questions in evolutionary biology, such as how genes lose and acquire new functions over evolutionary time. Every organism perceives the world in a unique way, through the filter of its sensory system, and understanding how these sensory systems differ can inform a variety of applications. Knowledge of bird taste abilities can be applied in developing pest control for agriculture, as well as in the formulation of appropriate diets for the pet trade or for captive breeding programs for endangered species. Many questions surrounding human diet and diet-related diseases rely on an understanding of what is palatable for humans: research into the mechanism of an alternative sweet-detection system may give novel insights into how mammalian taste functions and thus is of interest to both the flavor industry as well as to medical researchers. In addition, work on both taste and on hummingbirds has powerful outreach potential and a strong ability to engage the general public: this research will be presented in K-12 settings to introduce concepts in evolutionary biology and popularize the scientific process.