ODORANT RECEPTORS AND OLFACTORY SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

在果蝇中，就像在脊椎动物和秀丽线虫中一样，气味受体基因的一个大家族负责嗅觉系统显著的辨别能力。对于这种能力，大脑必须辨别出众多感受器中的哪一个被气味激活。有几条证据表明，气味感受器本身可能在神经元的气味识别特性与其中枢连接模式之间提供了联系，这可能指定了对特定气味的感知和行为反应。虽然最近在小鼠身上的实验结果确实证实了气味受体在嗅觉系统发育中的作用，但气味受体决定神经元连接的机制尚不清楚。本文提出的实验旨在以果蝇为模型系统来解决这一问题。实验方法将首先表征气味受体的发育表达，然后研究受体蛋白水平的变化对嗅觉神经系统发育的影响。这些研究将有助于理解神经生物学的基本原理。

In Drosophila, as in vertebrates and caenorhabditis elegans, a large family of odorant receptor genes is responsible for the remarkable discriminatory power of the olfactory system. For this capability, it is essential that the brain discern which of the numerous receptors has been activated by an odorant. Several lines of evidence suggest that odorant receptors themselves may provide a link between the odorant recognition properties of a neuron and its central pattern of connectivity, which may specify perception and behavioral response to a particular odor. While recent results of experiments in the mouse do validate a role for odorant receptors in olfactory system development, the mechanisms by which odorant receptors dictate neuronal connectivity are not understood. The experiments proposed here aim to address this problem using Drosophila as the model system. The experimental approach will be to first characterize the developmental expression of odorant receptors and next to examine the consequences of varying the levels of receptor proteins on development of the olfactory nervous system. These studies will contribute towards the understanding of basic principles of neurobiology.