Discrimination of Complex Mixtures Involved in Olfactory Signaling

动物用来传递信号的化合物被称为信息素。早期关于信息素的大部分工作都是利用飞蛾极其敏感的触角以及它们在吸引配偶方面的作用完成的。许多种类的雌性昆虫会产生混合的化学物质，释放到空气中，而顺风向下的雄性昆虫会感知到这些信息素，并沿着气味羽流逆风飞向雌性昆虫。一个重要的研究领域包括控制男性反应特异性的参数。触角中的感受器细胞是特定化合物的专属细胞，触角神经将这一信息传递给大脑。目前尚不清楚信息是如何从外周处理到中枢神经系统的，从而导致对化合物混合物的识别。该项目使用了一种在农业上具有重要意义的昆虫--欧洲玉米螟，它具有杂交小种，对组成它们的信息素的成分的比率表现出不同程度的特异性。一种新的移植形成触角的胚胎细胞的技术将被用于在另一种杂交形式的身体上种植一种杂交形式的触角。行为敏感度将证明对特定混合体的特异性更多地取决于触角感受器还是取决于大脑对整合输入的处理。这项工作的结果将为理解信息素的中枢和外周处理的相对作用提供重要的见解，并将有助于理解其他化学感觉系统以及信息素介导的行为。在控制害虫和有益昆虫物种的战略方面，其影响也将从神经科学延伸到农业。

Chemical compounds used by animals for communication signals are called pheromones. Much of the early work on pheromones was done using the extremely sensitive antennae of moths, and their role in mate attraction. Females of many insect species produce blends of chemicals that are released into the air, and males that are downwind perceive these pheromones and fly upwind along the odor plume to the female. An important area of research includes the parameters that control response specificity in the males. Receptor cells in the antennae are specific for particular compounds, and the antennal nerve carries this information to the brain. It remains unclear how information is processed from the periphery to the central nervous system, leading to recognition of the mixture of compounds. This project uses an agriculturally important insect, the European corn borer moth, that has hybrid races which exhibit different levels of specificity for ratios of components that comprise their pheromones. A novel technique of transplanting the embryonic cells that form antennae will be used to grow the antennae of one hybrid on the body of another hybrid form. The behavioral sensitivity will demonstrate whether the specificity to a particular blend depends more on the antennal receptors or on the brain processing of the integrated inputs. Results from this work will provide important insight on the relative role of central and peripheral processing of pheromones, and will lead to advances in understanding other chemosensory systems as well as pheromone-mediated behavior. The impact also will extend beyond neuroscience to agriculture, in the strategies for control of pest and beneficial insect species.