Neural basis of olfactory behaviors in a unique mosquito-flower association

对于所有动物来说，处理生物上重要气味的能力--通常是数十到数百种挥发性化学物质的混合物--对基本行为有根本的影响。对于蚊子来说尤其如此，蚊子根据人的气味的细微差异决定叮咬谁，从而传播疾病的病原体。尽管人们已经接受了气味混合物对蚊子行为的重要性，但我们对这种信息在大脑中是如何处理的(例如，在昆虫的触角叶[AL]中)知之甚少。该项目将使用一种跨学科的方法，将新的化学分析和电生理技术与行为动物(埃及伊蚊)的大脑反应同时成像，以了解复杂的气味是如何被处理来调节取食行为的。此外，该项目还将向学生介绍跨学科研究，以及向高中生广泛传播昆虫神经生物学的重要性。参加向上跳跃计划的高中生将通过暑期研讨会和实验室体验参与到这个项目中来。最后，该项目包括对本科生、研究生和博士后助理的培训，帮助他们为独立的科学生涯做好准备。嗅觉线索在调节蚊子行为方面发挥着基础性作用。该项目将：(1)表征蚊子访问的不同花卉的气味成分，并确定气味中激活保守气味受体的关键气味物质；(2)确定编码机制(S)，这些不同花香通过编码机制激活相同的肾小球回路(S)以诱导行为；(3)在转基因蚊子飞行的同时，在AL中使用钙成像。因此，该项目将促进对人类疾病昆虫媒介行为的嗅觉控制的理解，例如蚊子，每年影响超过10亿人的疾病病原体。此外，该项目还为从高中到博士后的学生开展了广泛的教育和培训活动。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

For all animals, the ability to process biologically important odors – often mixtures of tens to hundreds of volatile chemicals – has a fundamental consequence for essential behaviors. This is especially true for mosquitoes, which decide upon whom to bite, and thereby transmit pathogens of disease, based on subtle differences in a person’s scent. Despite the acceptance of the importance of odor mixtures for mosquito behavior, we know remarkably little about how this information is processed in the brain (e.g., in the antennal lobe [AL] of insects). This project will use an interdisciplinary approach that combines novel chemical analytical and electrophysiological techniques with simultaneous imaging of brain responses from behaving animals (Aedes aegypti mosquitoes) to understand how complex odors are processed to mediate feeding behavior. Furthermore, the project will also introduce students to interdisciplinary research, as well as broadly communicate the importance of insect neurobiology to high school students. High School students in the Upward Bound Program will be involved in the project through summer seminars and lab experiences. Finally, the project includes the training of undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral associates and helps prepare them for independent scientific careers.Olfactory cues play fundamental roles in mediating mosquito behavior. This project will: (1) characterize the scent composition of diverse flower species visited by mosquitoes and identify key odorants in the scents that activate conserved odorant receptors; (2) determine the coding mechanism(s) by which the scents from these diverse flowers activate the same glomerular circuit(s) to elicit behavior; and (3) use simultaneous calcium imaging in the AL of transgenic mosquitoes while the mosquito flies in place. The project will thus advance understanding of olfactory control of behavior of insect vectors of human disease, like mosquitoes, that impact more than a billion people per year with disease pathogens. Furthermore, the project has extensive educational and training activities for students from high school to postdoctoral fellows.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.