The neural basis of taste coding in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes
department or school: Science, Faculty of
department or school: Zoology, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Cyr, Elsa
issued: 2024-02-06T09:09:18Z
issued: 2024
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Insects possess gustatory receptor neurons that respond to different taste modalities. These neurons express receptor proteins that are tuned to specific taste molecules to elicit a response in the neuron. Taste processing has been extensively studied in Drosophila melanogaster, which makes it an ideal model to identify molecular mechanisms conserved in other insects. In this study, we explore the neural basis of taste processing in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti which utilizes its gustatory system to detect non-volatile chemosensory cues during behaviours such as blood feeding, nectar feeding, and egg laying. We hypothesize that taste processing mechanisms in A. aegypti are broadly conserved with D. melanogaster, but that mosquito-specific adaptations have evolved to support mosquito-specific behaviours. To test this, I produced a comprehensive anatomical and functional characterization of gustatory receptor neurons expressing taste receptors in the tarsi of mosquitoes. I used genetic driver lines to label sensory neurons, characterizing their anatomy and neural activity in response to taste stimuli. To investigate the anatomical map, I examined four different populations of neurons across all three legs in males and females. I found that specific populations of neurons are distributed throughout the legs, and across sexes in accordance with the behaviours they are associated with. To investigate the functional characterization of the neurons, I developed a novel protocol for live cell imaging in the tarsus during liquid tastant delivery. With this setup, I explored whether, similarly to D. melanogaster, neurons in the mosquito are broadly tuned to appetitive tastants, with overlapping populations of neurons responding to various appetitive taste molecules. I specifically tested sucrose, associated with mosquito nectar feeding behaviour, and lactic acid or low concentrations of sodium chloride, associated with blood feeding behaviour. My results show that…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/87413
note: The Neural Basis of Taste Coding in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes by Elsa Cyr BSc, The University of British Columbia, 2021 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Zoology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) February 2024 © Elsa Cyr, 2024 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: The Neural Basis of Taste Coding in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes submitted by Elsa Cyr in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Zoology Examining Committee: Dr. Benjamin Matthews, Assistant Professor, Zoology, UBC Co-supervisor Dr. Michael Gordon, Professor, Zoology, UBC Co-supervisor Dr. Kota Mizumoto, Associate Professor, Zoology, UBC Additional Examiner Additional Supervisory Committee Members: Dr. Elizabeth Rideout, Associate Professor, Cell and Development Biology, UBC Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract Insects possess gustatory receptor neurons that respond to different taste modalities. These neurons express receptor proteins that are tuned to specific taste molecules to elicit a response in the neuron. Taste processing has been extensively studied in Drosophila melanogaster, which makes it an ideal model to identify molecular mechanisms conserved in other insects. In this study, we explore the neural basis of taste processing in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti which utilizes its gustatory system to detect non-volatile chemosensory cues during behaviours such as blood feeding, nectar feeding, and egg laying. We hypothesize that taste processing mechanisms in A. aegypti are broadly conserved with D. melanogaster, but that mosquito-specific adaptations have evolved to support mosquito-specific behaviours. To test this, I produced a comprehensive anatomical and functional characterization of gustatory r…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2024-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0439616
language: eng
degree discipline: Zoology
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Matthews, Benjamin J., 1983-
contributor: Gordon, Michael Douglas
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/87413