CAREER - Insulin Signaling in Lygus hesperus: New Model Needed

这个CAREER项目的重点是在Lygus hesperus中胰岛素信号传导，这是一种西方失去光泽的植物昆虫。该项目建立在研究者之前对昆虫中涉及胰岛素和其他神经肽的信号通路的研究基础上，更广泛地有助于更好地理解昆虫生理学。这项研究将扩大昆虫如何利用激素和神经递质来决定如何储存能量，何时将资源用于生长和繁殖，以及如何在这些需求与不可避免的衰老和死亡之间取得平衡。由于这种昆虫是几种作物的害虫，因此更好地了解其生理学可能会导致改进保护食物供应的策略。该项目的教育计划包括开设一门昆虫生理学课程，这是内华达大学里诺分校目前课程的一个急需的补充，特别是对于在该大学学习昆虫科学的分散学科的学生来说。胰岛素信号研究的结果将直接纳入课程内容，作为学生设计实验的研究方法，以回答项目中出现的生理问题。此外，与农民和公众的接触将提供有关如何将研究成果应用于改进耕作方法和展示昆虫生理学基本原理的信息。除了课程开发和推广活动外，该项目还为本科生提供实验室研究机会，这些本科生是从现有的针对低收入第一代学生的大学项目中招募的。胰岛素信号在后生动物中广泛保守，是几个生理过程的中心纽带，包括代谢、寿命、发育、繁殖和免疫。昆虫是一个多样化、物种丰富的群体，对非模式生物的探索表明，在传统模式（如果蝇）之外，胰岛素信号传导的作用仍有待了解。因此，本项目的总体目标是更深入地了解胰岛素信号在异翅目昆虫（真正的昆虫）中的功能。为此，我们选择L. hesperus作为异翅目昆虫的代表来研究胰岛素信号。L. hesperus是一种能够以100多种寄主植物和其他昆虫为食的害虫。多种分子方法将被用来阐明胰岛素信号动力学的细节及其对生物体尺度生理过程的影响。本项目的目的是：(1)探索胰岛素样肽（ILP）信号在羊草脂肪体碳水化合物储存中的作用；(2)确定ILP信号在繁殖中的作用；(3)阐明ILP调控滞育的动力学。最终，羊草的营养投入和储存必须与繁殖的需要和在低温和食物短缺期间保存资源的需要保持良好的平衡。该项目探索了这些动态，并将为研究者了解昆虫和其他节肢动物神经肽和肽激素的基本功能的职业目标提供基础。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。

This CAREER project focuses on insulin signaling in Lygus hesperus, the western tarnished plant bug. The project builds on the investigator’s previous work on signaling pathways involving insulin and other neuropeptides in insects, and more generally contributes to a better understanding of insect physiology. The research will expand knowledge of how insects use hormones and neurotransmitters to determine how to store energy, when to devote resources to growth and reproduction, and how to balance these needs with inevitable aging and death. Because this bug is a pest of several crops, a better understanding of its physiology may lead to improved strategies for protection of the food supply. The educational plan for this project includes creation of an insect physiology course, a much-needed addition to University of Nevada Reno’s current course offering, particularly for the scattered disciplines housing students studying insect science at the university. Results from the insulin signaling research will feed directly into course content as students research methods to design experiments to answer physiological questions emerging from the project. In addition, outreach to farmers and the public will provide information about how the research results can be applied to improve farming practices, and to demonstrate basic principles of insect physiology. In addition to course development and outreach activities, the project provides laboratory research opportunities for undergraduates to be recruited from an existing university program aimed at low-income, first-generation students.Insulin signaling is widely conserved among metazoans and is a central nexus for several physiological processes, including metabolism, lifespan, development, reproduction, and immunity. Insects are a diverse, species-rich group, and explorations in non-model organisms suggest that much remains to be understood about the roles of insulin signaling outside of traditional models such as Drosophila melanogaster. Therefore, the overall goal of this project is to gain greater insight into the functions of insulin signaling in Heteroptera, the true bugs. With this goal, L. hesperus, a pest insect capable of feeding on more than 100 species of host plants as well as other insects, was selected as a representative heteropteran to study insulin signaling. Multiple molecular approaches will be utilized to elucidate details of insulin signaling dynamics and their impacts on organism-scale physiological processes. The objectives of this project are to: (1) explore the role of insulin-like-peptide (ILP) signaling in carbohydrate storage in the L. hesperus fat body, (2) determine the roles of ILP signaling in reproduction, and (3) elucidate the dynamics of ILPs in regulating diapause. Ultimately, nutritional inputs and storage in L. hesperus must be finely balanced with the need to reproduce against the need to conserve resources during periods of low temperature and food scarcity. This project explores these dynamics and will provide a foundation for the investigator's career goal of understanding fundamental functions of neuropeptides and peptide hormones in insects and other arthropods.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.