Molecular basis of neurotransmission - cryo-EM structural and functional investigation of the human serotonin receptor in a lipid environment

对于一只生活在广阔世界中的小蚊子来说，寻找交配对象是一项挑战。就像人类聚集在聚会上一样，蚊子聚集在一起寻找配偶。交配群是由数百只蚊子组成的迷人实体；它们每天都在同样的地点发生。破坏蚊子群可能对控制传播疾病的蚊子产生重大影响。但我们对诱导蚊子成群行为的内源性分子机制几乎一无所知。该项目将结合遗传、生理和药物技术来识别这些神经通路和潜在的阻断它们的策略。

For a tiny mosquito in a wide world, finding a mating partner is a challenge. The same wayhumans gather at parties, mosquitoes aggregate in swarms to find a mate. Mating swarmsare fascinating entities formed by hundreds of mosquitoes; they take place in the samelocations every day. Disrupting swarms could have a major impact on controlling disease transmitting mosquitoes. But we hardly know anything about the endogenous molecularmachinery that induce mosquito swarming behaviour. This project will combine genetic,physiological and pharmaceutical techniques to identify these neurological pathways andpotential strategies to block them.