Molecular mechanisms regulating chemosensory cilia organization

项目摘要 动物之间的交流依赖于感觉的接收、传递和处理。听力丧失， 气味或味道改变了社会和环境的相互作用，并对动物的生存和 健身。初级纤毛存在于所有感觉神经元上，包括脊椎动物鼻部的嗅觉神经元。 上皮组织。这些纤毛容纳了所有的嗅觉信号分子，因此对感觉接收至关重要。这个 众所周知，神经鞘内神经元及其突起的组织对神经元功能很重要，但 感觉器官内纤毛的组织结构研究很少。在小鼠嗅觉上皮，嗅觉 高度刺激区域的感觉神经元(OSN)含有较长的纤毛，这表明纤毛模式可能 有功能上的后果。线虫双侧双眼8个化学感受性神经元的纤毛 感觉器官存在于由周围神经胶质细胞形成的通道内。这些纤毛是典型的 排列，产生特定的纤毛-纤毛接触。这些化学感受器神经元的功能分别是 已知，并可通过对刺激诱发行为和细胞内钙离子的成像进行轻松评估 动力学。因此，该系统为研究纤毛组织及其影响提供了一个很好的模型。 化学感觉神经元的功能。这项建议将研究纤毛控制的分子机制。 在某种意义上的组织，无论是这个组织还是由此产生的纤毛-纤毛， 影响化学感觉神经元的功能。这项工作的结果将提供基础知识 关于纤毛组织及其在化学感觉神经元功能中的重要性，这是一个在很大程度上未被探索的领域 化学感觉生物学。本提案中描述的实验将提供高分辨率的培训 化学感觉行为和神经元反应的显微镜和定量分析。此外，这一点 该提案包括加强指导、科学交流和网络方面的培训的具体计划， 所有这些都是成为一名独立研究人员的关键技能。

Project Summary Communication between animals relies on sensory reception, transduction, and processing. Loss of hearing, smell or taste alters social as well as environmental interactions, and adversely affects animal survival and fitness. Primary cilia are present on all sensory neurons, including on olfactory neurons in the vertebrate nasal epithelium. These cilia house all olfactory signaling molecules and are thus critical for sensory reception. The organization of neurons and their processes within neuropils is known to be important for neuron function, but the organization of cilia within sense organs is poorly studied. In the mouse olfactory epithelium, olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) in highly stimulated regions contain longer cilia, suggesting that ciliary patterns may have functional consequences. The cilia of eight chemosensory neurons of the C. elegans bilateral amphid sense organs are present within a channel formed by surrounding glia. These cilia are stereotypically arranged, giving rise to specific cilia-cilia contacts. The functions of each of these chemosensory neurons are known and can be readily assessed via imaging of stimulus-evoked behaviors and intracellular calcium dynamics. Thus, this system provides an excellent model in which to study cilia organization and its impact on chemosensory neuron functions. This proposal will investigate the molecular mechanism controlling cilia organization in a sense organ, and whether this organization or the cilia-cilia contacts that arise from it, influence chemosensory neuron functions. The results from this work will provide foundational knowledge about cilia organization and its importance in chemosensory neuron function, a largely unexplored area of chemosensory biology. The experiments described in this proposal will provide training in high-resolution microscopy and quantitative analyses of chemosensory behaviors and neuronal responses. Additionally, this proposal includes specific plans to enhance training in mentorship, scientific communication, and networking, all of which are critical skills to become an independent researcher.