Research

All animals are born with a set of instincts, or innate behaviors, and our main questions are how complex behaviors are organized in the nervous system and how they are programmed during development. For this, the chemosensory system would be one of the most excellent models. Smell and taste are known to be important for sensing predators, selecting mates, as well as finding food. We are interested in tracing the neuronal pathways that mediate complex instinctive behaviors such as feeding, from sensory input to motor output. We use the fruit fly as a model system to study chemosensation.

We aim to identify molecular and cellular components required for chemosensation such as chemosensory receptors, chemosensory neurons, and the downstream signaling pathways, as well as elucidate the process starting from chemosensory perception and ending in a motor reaction. Drosophila melanogaster larvae are used as a simple model system to gain insight into these processes. Through these studies we aim to establish a molecular neurogenetic understanding of how external stimuli is perceived and processed in the peripheral and central nervous system.

The purpose of this study is the identification of novel functions of chemosensory receptors in Drosophila melanogaster. Specifically, we are interested in the role of chemoreceptors in homeostatic maintenance.