Functional Characterization of Drosophila Odor Receptors

描述(申请人提供)：从果蝇到人类，动物的嗅觉系统能够检测和区分大量的气味。这种能力依赖于气味受体大家族，这些家族的成员在嗅觉感受器神经元的亚群中表达，并赋予这些神经元气味特异性。尽管气味感受器在正常嗅觉功能中起着基础作用，但对任何物种中单个感受器的功能知之甚少。本研究将对果蝇触角的气味感受器功能进行活体分析。我们将研究个体气味受体对感受器神经元反应特性的贡献，从而加深我们对嗅觉编码和气味-受体相互作用的分子基础的理解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The olfactory system in animals from Drosophila to humans is able to detect and distinguish among a remarkable number of odors. This ability depends on large and highly diverse families of odor receptors whose members are expressed in subsets of olfactory receptor neurons and which confer upon these neurons their odor specificities. Despite the fundamental role of odor receptors in normal olfactory function, very little is known about the functions of individual receptors in any species. This study will undertake an in vivo analysis of odor receptor function in the Drosophila antenna. The contribution of individual odor receptors to receptor neuron response properties will be examined, thus furthering our understanding of both olfactory coding and the molecular basis of odor-receptor interactions.