Function and evolution of insect odorant receptors

该项目旨在通过遗传模式昆虫黑腹果蝇和有害物种澳大利亚绵羊苍蝇之间的比较基因组研究，阐明昆虫气味受体是如何发挥作用的。该项目希望产生关于特定化学物质如何激活特定受体的知识，以兴奋感觉神经元和驱动行为，这一点还没有被很好地理解。预期的结果包括增加对昆虫嗅觉的了解，加强国家和国际合作，以及出色的研究生培训。这项研究将在未来获得改变具有农业或医学意义的昆虫行为的方法方面具有重要意义，例如绵蝇。

This project aims to shed light on how insect odorant receptors function by using comparative genomic studies between the genetic model insect Drosophila melanogaster and a pest species, the Australian sheep blowfly. This project expects to generate knowledge of how specific chemicals activate specific receptors in order to excite sensory neurons and drive behaviour, which is not well understood. Expected outcomes include increased understanding of olfaction in insects, increased national and international collaboration, and outstanding graduate student training. This research will be of significant future benefit in deriving methods to modify the behaviour of insects of agricultural or medical importance, for example the sheep blowfly.