COMPLEX MIXTURE DISCRIMINATION IN OLFACTORY SIGNALING

描述：（改编自研究者摘要） 嗅球是脊椎动物中常见的功能元件， 无脊椎动物的神经通路参与整合感觉信息 复杂的气味混合物。以前的研究表明，昆虫可以 研究肾小球功能作用的极好模型。一个最 研究涉及性信息素加工途径在男性特定的 雄蛾触角叶的巨球复合体。嗅觉 MGC中的肾小球主要参与细胞的空间组织， 特定信息素成分的感觉轴突及其与 特定的局部中间神经元和投射神经元， 气味的质量、数量和不挥发性。目前的目标 建议是测试关于感觉传入和 中枢神经元类型的嗅球，利用技术 雌雄间触角成虫盘移植 烟夜蛾、烟青虫和玉米 玉米实夜蛾Helicoverpa zea.这两种昆虫一直是 广泛的研究信息素混合歧视，和 参与神经通路的电生理/解剖学研究 处理信息素信号。触角移植手术可以让 具有独特触角和行为反应的雄性和雌性的构建 表型来测试肾小球组织和行为的模型 气味质量的辨别。这些物种间的触角移植 代表了一种新的实验范式，用于研究 肾小球在嗅觉辨别中结构和功能作用

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from the Investigator's Abstract) Olfactory glomeruli are the common functional elements in vertebrate and invertebrate neural pathways involved in integrating sensory information about complex odor mixtures. Previous studies have shown that insects can be excellent models for studying the functional role of glomeruli. One of the most studied involves the sex pheromone-processing pathways in the male-specific macroglomerular complex (MGC) of the antennal lobe of male moths. Olfactory glomeruli in the MGC are critically involved in the spatial organization of sensory axons for specific pheromone components and their interactions with specific local interneurons and projection neurons that integrate key aspects of odor quality, quantity, and intermittency. The objectives of the present proposal are to test hypotheses about the interactions of sensory afferents and central neuron types in the olfactory glomeruli, utilizing the technique of transplantation of antennal imaginal disks between males and females of two heliothine moths, the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens, and the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea. These two insect species have been the subject of extensive studies on pheromone blend discrimination, and electrophysiological/anatomical studies of neural pathways involved in processing the pheromone signal. The antennal transplant procedure will allow construction of males and females with unique antennal and behavioral response phenotypes to test a model for glomerular organization and behavioral discrimination of odor quality. These inter-species antennal transplants represent a new experimental paradigm for studying basic aspects of the structural and functional role of glomeruli in olfactory discrimination.