Molecular mechanisms for signal-receptor functional coupling in pheromonal systems

成功的交配对大多数动物物种的生存至关重要。对于许多物种来说，决定与谁交配取决于通过释放“信息素”来交流的信息，信息素是一种复杂的化学物质混合物，由一只动物释放出来，让另一只动物感知。因此，了解信息素如何影响交配行为对动物行为和进化生物学具有广泛的意义。由于信息素传达精确的信息，信息素的产生和感知之间的联系在物种内预计是相对稳定的。然而，先前的研究表明，信息素非常灵活，可以随着新物种的进化而迅速变化。对于这个明显的谜题，一个可能的解释是，一些共同的基因共同调节负责信息素产生和感知的独立过程。这些共享基因可以为信息素信号的进化提供一条途径，同时又不会失去信息素产生和感知之间的联系。这一假设将通过利用果蝇的求偶仪式作为模型来验证。研究将集中在编码蛋白质的基因上，这些蛋白质在神经系统中起信息素受体的作用，以及信息素表皮产生的调节剂，以及它们在雄性和雌性以及相关果蝇物种之间信息素差异中的可能作用。除了为高中生和本科生提供培训机会外，该项目还将产生更广泛的影响，包括遗传学和神经科学的推广以及与圣路易斯地区公共教育系统相关的教育活动。交配信息素对维持不同动物分类群的物种边界至关重要。然而，令人困惑的是，当密切相关的物种多样化时，信息素如何能够在没有与相关的配偶选择行为脱钩相关的适应性成本的情况下进化。本项目的目的是验证交配信息素的产生和感知是通过多效性基因的作用在遗传上联系在一起的假设。具体来说，该项目将测试果蝇味觉受体蛋白家族成员在特定表皮信息素的感觉感知中发挥作用，并通过在信息素产生的卵泡细胞中充当调节性自受体来调节其合成。方法将包括行为、化学分析和最先进的CRISPR/ cas9依赖性基因组编辑方法的结合，以建立信息素感知和产生之间的遗传联系，研究多效化学感受器在调节雌性交配前到交配后从吸引到排斥的信息素表型转换中的作用。以及信息素受体进化在促进果蝇属的分类交配和物种形成中的作用。研究结果将为信息素对交配行为的调节以及交配信号的进化提供新的机制见解。除了在圣路易斯地区开展多样化的遗传学和神经科学推广活动外，研究者和同事们还将利用交配行为研究作为培训高中和本科生的机会，在实验设计、行为和基因数据收集和分析以及科学演示方面进行培训。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Successful mating is essential for the survival of most animal species. For many species, the decision with whom to mate depends on information communicated via the release of 'pheromones', a complex blend of chemicals that are released by one animal to be sensed by another. Therefore, understanding how pheromones affect mating behaviors has broad implications for animal behavior and evolutionary biology. Because pheromones communicate precise information, the links between pheromone production and perception are expected to be relatively stable within species. However, previous studies suggest that pheromones are remarkably flexible, and can change rapidly as new species evolve. One possible explanation for this apparent puzzle is that some shared genes co-regulate the independent processes responsible for pheromone production and perception. These shared genes could provide a path for the evolution of pheromone signals without losing the link between pheromone production and perception. This hypothesis will be tested by taking advantage of the fruit fly courtship ritual as a model. Studies will focus on genes that encode proteins that function as pheromone receptors in the nervous system, as well as regulators of pheromone cuticular production, and their possible role in pheromonal differences between males and females and across related fruit fly species. In addition to training opportunities for high school and undergraduate students, the broader impacts of this project will include genetics and neuroscience outreach and education activities associated with the public education system in the St. Louis region. Mating pheromones are essential for the maintenance of species boundaries in diverse animal taxa. However, it is puzzling how, as closely related species diversify, pheromones could evolve without fitness costs associated with their decoupling from related mate choice behaviors. The goal of this project is to test the hypothesis that mating pheromone production and perception are genetically linked via the action of pleiotropic genes. Specifically, the project will test the hypothesis that members of the Gustatory receptor protein family in Drosophila play a role in the sensory perception of specific cuticular pheromones as well as in the regulation of their synthesis by acting as regulatory autoreceptors in the pheromone-producing oenocytes. Approaches will include a combination of behavioral, chemo-analytical, and state-of-the-art CRISPR/Cas9-dependent genome editing approaches to establish a genetic linkage between the perception and production of pheromones, to investigate the role of pleiotropic chemoreceptors in regulating the female pre-to-post-mating phenotypic switch from attractive to repulsive pheromonal profile, and the role of pheromone receptor evolution in promoting assortative mating and speciation in the genus Drosophila. Findings will provide novel mechanistic insights into the regulation of mating behaviors by pheromones in particular, and the evolution of mating signals in general. In addition to diverse genetics and neuroscience outreach activities in the St. Louis region, the investigator and co-workers will use studies of mating behaviors as training opportunities for high school and undergraduate students in experimental design, behavioral and genetic data collection and analyses, and scientific presentations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.