RUI: Fuctional Development of an Insect Visual System

视觉通过眼睛中的光色素分子捕捉光的能量；这些光色素被整合到光感受器细胞内精细的膜结构中。这些膜在一段时间内经常显示出高的周转率，而这些有组织的膜（包含大量的光色素蛋白）是如何形成和调节的机制尚不清楚。这个项目使用一种昆虫的复眼作为模型系统，蛾。这种生物已经成为发育和生理研究的模型。膜组装和光色素插入的途径和调控可以通过实验分离出来。超微结构、生物化学、免疫细胞化学和电生理技术将用于研究这种具有复杂视觉系统的夜行昆虫的转换机制和意义。本项目以新颖的方法对视觉科学产生影响，同时对培养现代神经科学本科生具有重要意义。

Vision involves capturing the energy of light by photopigment molecules in the eye; these photopigments are incorporated into elaborate membrane structures within photoreceptor cells. These membranes often show high rates of turnover during time, and the mechanisms remain unclear for how these organized membranes, incorporating high amounts of photopigment proteins, are formed and regulated. This project uses as a model system the compound eye of an insect, the moth Manduca. This organism is already a model for developmental and physiological studies. The pathway and regulation of membrane assembly and photopigment insertion can be separated experimentally. Ultrastructural, biochemical, immunocytochemical, and electrophysiological techniques will be used for examining the mechanisms and significance of turnover in this nocturnal insect with a complex visual system. This Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) project with a novel approach will have an impact on visual science, and also will be important for its impact on training undergraduates in modern neuroscience.