Genetic Analysis of Neuropeptide Signaling

9730003塔格特神经沟通导致信息处理，并最终导致对行为的控制。大脑的化学物质是脑细胞进行交流的通货。这种化学是复杂的，包括数百种不同的化合物，它们在不同的时间和大脑的不同位置使用。特别是有一类“神经递质”是称为神经肽的小肽荷尔蒙。这些对于它们对各种特定行为的直接调控是非常重要的，这些行为包括食欲和生殖行为、情绪、压力和焦虑。塔格特博士使用无脊椎动物模型系统--果蝇--利用遗传学来研究神经肽和行为之间的关系。遗传学的这种应用很重要，因为它提供了操纵动物基因表达的手段，而果蝇提供了最全面和最复杂的一套遗传工具。事实上，通过从基因上操纵这些机制，塔格特博士可以解决体内神经肽的功能问题。鉴于神经肽依赖于正确的翻译后修饰来获得正确的结构和功能，他将研究一种特定的酶，这种酶是合成几乎所有神经肽所必需的，而且只合成神经肽。由于缺乏这种酶的动物很早就死亡，这表明神经肽对发育和生存的重要性，塔格特博士设计了两种独立的方法来制造这种酶的嵌合体动物。使用生化、解剖学和行为学工具，他将对这些马赛克进行全面评估。这些研究的结果将为理解神经肽在调节神经元如何交流信息中所起的作用提供新的线索。

9730003 Taghert Neural communication leads to information processing and ultimately to the command of behavior. The chemistry of the brain is the currency by which communication is exchanged by brain cells. That chemistry is complex and includes several hundred different compounds that are used at different times and different places in the brain. In particular one class of "neural transmitters" are small peptide hormones called neuropeptides. These are very important for the direct regulatory control they appear to have on a variety of specific behaviors including appetitive and reproductive behavior, mood, stress, and anxiety. Dr. Taghert uses a model invertebrate system, the fruit fly Drosophila, to employ genetics to study the relation between neuropeptides and behavior. This use of genetics is important because it provides the means to manipulate gene expression in the animals and Drosophila offers the most comprehensive and sophisticated set of genetic tools. Indeed by manipulating these mechanisms genetically, Dr. Taghert can address neuropeptide functions in vivo. Given that neuropeptides rely on proper post-translational modifications for their correct structure and hence for their functions, he will examine a specific enzyme that is necessary for the synthesis of nearly all neuropeptides, and only neuropeptides. Since animals that are deficient in this enzyme die early indicating the importance of neuropeptides for development and survival, Dr. Taghert has devised two independent means to make animals that are mosaic for the enzyme. Using biochemical, anatomical and behavioral tools, he will fully evaluate these mosaics. The results from these studies will shed new light towards understanding the role that neuropeptides play in modulating how neurons communicate information.