Functional Characterization of Drosophila Odor Receptors

描述（由申请人提供）：从果蝇到人类的动物的嗅觉系统能够检测和区分大量气味。这种能力依赖于大的和高度多样化的气味受体家族，其成员在嗅觉受体神经元的子集中表达，并赋予这些神经元其气味特异性。尽管气味受体在正常嗅觉功能中起着重要作用，但对任何物种中单个受体的功能知之甚少。本研究将进行果蝇触角气味受体功能的体内分析。个体气味受体对受体神经元反应特性的贡献将被检查，从而进一步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.