Gustatory Coding in Drosophila Legs

描述（由申请人提供）：昆虫的味觉与它们的进食和交配行为密切相关，这两者对公众健康都有巨大的影响。与大多数其他生物不同，昆虫有多个味觉器官。口器一直是昆虫味觉研究的主要焦点。然而，不同味觉器官之间的相互作用是相对未知的。在不同的味觉器官中，腿尤其有趣，因为它们通常是昆虫伸出口器之前对食物质量的第一个衡量标准。此外，腿也被认为可以探测信息素，并在交配行为中发挥关键作用。在这里，我们提出了两个专门设计的实验，以研究腿部味觉的细胞和分子基础，并研究与口器相比，腿作为味觉器官的功能意义。这些结果对于理解昆虫的摄食行为具有重要意义，进而对设计更好的昆虫控制策略具有不可估量的价值。

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.