Neural basis of olfactory behaviors in a unique mosquito-flower association

对于所有动物来说，处理生物学上重要的气味的能力-通常是数十到数百种挥发性化学物质的混合物-对基本行为有着根本的影响。这对蚊子来说尤其如此，蚊子根据一个人气味的细微差别来决定叮咬谁，从而传播疾病的病原体。尽管气味混合物对蚊子行为的重要性已经被接受，但我们对这些信息在大脑中是如何处理的知之甚少（例如，在昆虫的触角叶[AL]）。该项目将使用跨学科的方法，将新型化学分析和电生理技术与行为动物（埃及伊蚊）的大脑反应同步成像相结合，以了解复杂的气味如何被处理以介导进食行为。此外，该项目还将向学生介绍跨学科研究，并向高中生广泛宣传昆虫神经生物学的重要性。在向上绑定程序的高中学生将通过夏季研讨会和实验室经验参与该项目。最后，该项目还包括对本科生、研究生和博士后的培训，帮助他们为独立的科学事业做好准备。嗅觉线索在调节蚊子行为方面发挥着重要作用。该项目将：（1）表征蚊子访问的不同花卉物种的气味组成，并鉴定激活保守气味受体的气味中的关键气味剂;（2）确定来自这些不同花卉的气味激活相同肾小球回路以引发行为的编码机制;和（3）当蚊子在原地飞行时，在转基因蚊子的AL中使用同时钙成像。因此，该项目将促进对人类疾病昆虫载体行为的嗅觉控制的理解，如蚊子，每年影响超过10亿人的疾病病原体。此外，该项目还为从高中到博士后的学生提供了广泛的教育和培训活动。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

For all animals, the ability to process biologically important odors – often mixtures of tens to hundreds of volatile chemicals – has a fundamental consequence for essential behaviors. This is especially true for mosquitoes, which decide upon whom to bite, and thereby transmit pathogens of disease, based on subtle differences in a person’s scent. Despite the acceptance of the importance of odor mixtures for mosquito behavior, we know remarkably little about how this information is processed in the brain (e.g., in the antennal lobe [AL] of insects). This project will use an interdisciplinary approach that combines novel chemical analytical and electrophysiological techniques with simultaneous imaging of brain responses from behaving animals (Aedes aegypti mosquitoes) to understand how complex odors are processed to mediate feeding behavior. Furthermore, the project will also introduce students to interdisciplinary research, as well as broadly communicate the importance of insect neurobiology to high school students. High School students in the Upward Bound Program will be involved in the project through summer seminars and lab experiences. Finally, the project includes the training of undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral associates and helps prepare them for independent scientific careers.Olfactory cues play fundamental roles in mediating mosquito behavior. This project will: (1) characterize the scent composition of diverse flower species visited by mosquitoes and identify key odorants in the scents that activate conserved odorant receptors; (2) determine the coding mechanism(s) by which the scents from these diverse flowers activate the same glomerular circuit(s) to elicit behavior; and (3) use simultaneous calcium imaging in the AL of transgenic mosquitoes while the mosquito flies in place. The project will thus advance understanding of olfactory control of behavior of insect vectors of human disease, like mosquitoes, that impact more than a billion people per year with disease pathogens. Furthermore, the project has extensive educational and training activities for students from high school to postdoctoral fellows.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.