Genetic Dissection of Olfactory Memory in Drosophila

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Dr. Michael Grotewiel was appointed as an assistant professor in the Department of Zoology in August, 1998. In his two years in this capacity he has demonstrated a strong commitment to excellence in research and teaching. This commitment is exemplified by the establishment of an extramurally funded research program and excellent ratings by undergraduate and graduate students in his courses and lectures. Additionally, Dr. Grotewiel has been an enthusiastic citizen in the Zoology Department and the Graduate Neuroscience Program by serving on a number of committees dealing with a variety of issues including graduate student admissions and recruiting, searches for faculty hires, liaison to the Dean, and laboratory space utilization. This Research Career Development Award (RCDA) would allow Dr. Grotewiel to substantially reduce his teaching and committee assignments, thereby tipping the balance of his efforts in favor of his research program. His primary immediate and long-term career goals are to focus on and expand his research program on the molecular bases of memory in Drosophila, ultimately raising it to a level of high national and international visibility. He also plans to continue teaching and some limited committee service, albeit at a reduced level such that it occupies less than 20 percent of his total effort. The long-term objective of his laboratory is to understand the molecular bases for memory in Drosophila. Drosophila is an excellent model system for such investigations because of its powerful genetics and ability to perform well in many memory paradigms. Additionally, since the molecular events involved in learning and memory seem to be conserved from flies to mice, studies utilizing Drosophila will continue to provide highly relevant information regarding the fundamental molecular events underlying behavioral plasticity. During this funding period, Dr. Grotewiel will continue his work on identifying molecules involved in integrin-mediated olfactory memory in Drosophila. One of the major goals will be to identify the requisite integrin beta subunit that physically interacts with alphaPS3, an alpha integrin previously shown to participate in olfactory memory. Another major goal will be to delineate the brain regions in which integrins are active using targeted gene expression strategies in combination with behavioral analyses. Additionally, the role of proteins that directly bind to the cytoplasmic domains of integrins will be explored via molecular and biochemical studies. Collectively, these studies will add greatly to our understanding of the molecular and cellular processes mediated by integrins within the context of learning and memory.