Gustatory Coding in Drosophila Legs

描述（申请人提供）：昆虫的味觉与它们的取食和交配行为密切相关，这两者对公共卫生有着巨大的影响。与大多数其他生物不同，昆虫有多种味觉器官。昆虫的口器是昆虫味觉研究的主要对象。然而，不同味觉器官之间的相互作用相对未知。在不同的味觉器官中，腿特别有趣，因为它们通常是昆虫伸出口器之前食物质量的第一个衡量标准。此外，腿也被认为是检测信息素和在交配行为中发挥关键作用。在这里，我们提出了两个实验，专门设计来研究的细胞和分子的基础上的味道在腿，并检查腿作为一个味觉器官的功能意义，与口器。这些结果对于了解昆虫的取食行为非常重要，而这反过来又可以在设计更好的昆虫控制策略方面发挥宝贵的作用。 公共卫生相关性：每年有数亿人感染虫媒疾病。昆虫的取食和寻找寄主行为严重依赖于化学感觉线索。我们提出了一个全面的，多学科的分析果蝇的腿作为一个模型的味觉器官，增加我们的理解的昆虫化学感觉系统的目标，这可能会导致改进的昆虫控制策略的发展。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The sense of taste in insects is closely involved in their feeding and mating behavior, both of which have a huge impact on public health. Unlike most other organisms, insects have multiple taste organs. The mouthparts have been the primary focus of previous studies in insect taste. However, the interplay between different taste organs is relatively unknown. Among the different taste organs, the legs are especially interesting, as they often serve as the first gauge of food quality before the insects extend their mouthparts. In addition, the legs have also been suggested to detect pheromones and to play key roles in mating behavior. Here, we propose two experiments designed specifically to examine the cellular and molecular basis of taste in the legs, and to examine the functional significance of the legs as a taste organ in contrast to the mouthparts. The results will be important for the understanding of insect feeding behavior, which in turn could be invaluable in designing better insect control strategies. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Every year hundreds of millions of people are infected with insect-borne diseases. Insects rely heavily on chemosensory cues for their feeding and host-seeking behaviors. We propose a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary analysis of the Drosophila legs as a model taste organ, with the goal of increasing our understanding of the insect chemosensory system, which may lead to the development of improved insect control strategies.