NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Functional responses of bird olfactory receptors

这一行动为NSF 2022财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。鸟类几乎生活在所有的陆地环境中，但长期以来，人们认为鸟类对嗅觉的利用有限。最近对鸟类的行为研究表明，气味在行为和生态学中扮演着重要的角色。脊椎动物使用称为嗅觉受体(ORs)的蛋白质来检测气味。这位研究员早些时候已经表明，鸟类的OR值比之前意识到的要多得多。目前还没有对鸟类的气味与ORs进行匹配的研究，也不知道哪些气味在鸟类生态中是重要的。然而，研究人员已经将哺乳动物的OR值与特定的气味进行了匹配。在许多情况下，这些哺乳动物的ORs与鸟类的ORs密切相关。这项研究将测试这些密切相关的鸟类ORs的气味，与哺乳动物ORs检测到的气味相同，以了解哺乳动物和鸟类之间OR功能的保守程度。这项研究还将测试与鸟类行为相关的气味的OR反应，包括鸟类用于羽化的腺体中的油。此外，外展项目将向观鸟者展示气味对当地物种的重要性。这位研究员希望改变历史上人们对鸟类气味的看法，并证明这是鸟类感知世界的一种重要感觉。这个项目将使用一组已知对斑马雀(Taeniopygia Guttata)ORs同源的特定气味的老鼠ORs，在体内测试气味反应是否通过这两个高度不同的脊椎动物谱系的进化而得到保留。然后，这位研究员将在体外筛选一组更大的气味物质，以对抗斑马雀ORs。这将是第一次旨在揭示鸟类OR的功能反应的测试。使用与斑马雀行为相关的气味，研究人员将在活体内调查OR反应。这位研究员将在自然中心开展一项推广活动，使用带有隐藏食物的喂食器，并提供表格，供公众记录观察和了解鸟类嗅觉。这位研究员将继续促进观鸟的包容性，并推动删除攻击性鸟类的名称。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。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2022, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Birds inhabit nearly all land environments, yet were long thought to make limited use of their sense of smell. Recent behavioral work in birds has shown important roles for smell in behavior and ecology. Vertebrates detect odors using proteins called olfactory receptors (ORs). The fellow has earlier shown that birds have many more ORs than previously realized. There are no studies in birds that match odors to ORs, and it is unknown which odors are important in bird ecology. However, researchers have matched mammalian ORs to specific odors. In many cases, these mammalian ORs are closely related to bird ORs. This research will test these closely related bird ORs with the same odors that the mammalian ORs detect, to understand how conserved OR function is between mammals and birds. This research will also test OR response to odors relevant to bird behavior, including oils from the gland birds use for preening. Additionally, outreach projects will show bird watchers the importance of smell to their local species. The fellow hopes to change the historical perception of bird smell and show that this is an important sense birds use to perceive the world.This project will use a set of mouse ORs known to respond to specific odorants that are orthologous to zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) ORs to test in vivo if odorant responses are preserved through the evolution of these two highly divergent vertebrate lineages. The fellow will then screen a larger panel of odorants against the zebra finch ORs in vitro. This would be the first test aimed to reveal a functional response for a bird OR. Using odorants that are behaviorally relevant to the zebra finch, the fellow will investigate OR responses in vivo. The fellow will conduct an outreach activity at nature centers using feeders with hidden food and provide forms for the public to record observations and learn about bird olfaction. The fellow will continue to promote inclusivity in bird watching, and push for the removal of offensive bird names.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.