Molecular basis of insect attraction to human odorants

描述（由申请人提供）：传播疾病的昆虫通常通过嗅觉线索检测人类，因此有必要更好地了解气味是如何编码并引发昆虫行为的。这项提议的长期目标是阐明昆虫嗅觉信号的基本过程，特别关注嗅觉神经元的一个子集，即已知能探测人类气味的腔视神经元。鉴于昆虫嗅觉系统的进化守恒，我们建议利用果蝇的遗传和行为工具来了解这些气味吸引的分子基础。在我的第一个目标中，我将扩大已知的气味范围，通过使用电生理记录来描述它们对其他气味的反应，从而激活耳蜗神经元。特别是，我将重点放在胺和羧酸，在人类散发物中发现的吸引人的气味。在我的第二个目标中，我将通过利用遗传操作和对成年果蝇进行特征明确的行为分析来剖析腔肠神经元信号的行为意义。最后，我将通过探测从RNA测序筛选中获得的候选基因的功能和定位，确定嗅觉受体活性所必需的富含腔肠orn的其他信号成分。总之，这些实验旨在阐明嗅觉信号的分子机制以及环境信号转化为昆虫行为的手段。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Insects that transmit disease often detect humans through olfactory cues, making it imperative to better understand how odors are encoded and elicit behavior in insects. The long term goal of this proposal is to illuminate fundamental processes in insect olfactory signaling, with particular focus on a subset of olfactory neurons, coeloconic neurons, known to detect human odorants. Given the evolutionary conservation of olfactory systems amongst insects, we propose to make use of the genetic and behavioral tools available in Drosophila to understand the molecular basis of attraction to these odorants. In my first aim, I will expand the range of odors known to activate coeloconic neurons by characterizing their responses to additional odorants using electrophysiological recordings. In particular, I will focus on amines and carboxylic acids, attractive odors found in human emanations. In my second aim, I will dissect the behavioral significance of coeloconic neuron signaling by utilizing genetic manipulations and a well-characterized behavioral assay with adult flies. Finally, I will identify additional signaling components enriched in coeloconic ORNs that are necessary for olfactory receptor activity by probing the function and localization of candidate genes obtained from an RNA Sequencing screen. Together, these experiments are designed to elucidate molecular mechanisms of olfactory signaling and the means by which environmental signals are transformed into behavior in insects. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Insect-borne diseases, including malaria, kill more than a million people each year. Insects such as mosquitoes primarily rely upon their olfactory system to detect humans. This project is designed to shed light on how human odorants are encoded and elicit behavior in insects. The results could lead to the development of improved insect repellents and traps.