Evolution of a pheromonal communication system in amphibians

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

Understanding how organisms communicate with one other and how communication systems arise and change over time is a major challenge in biology. This project provides a rare opportunity to investigate the origin and diversification of a chemical communication system at the molecular level in amphibians (salamanders and frogs). In addition, this research can provide a novel framework for applications in computer science, where current research is focused on building systems that can evolve and use communication to accomplish jobs and then adapt as needs change. The project will also contribute to the training of a postdoctoral researcher and numerous undergraduate students in collaboration with MSU's BEACON Center and an ongoing REU site award. Specifically, the objectives of this work are to trace the evolutionary link between compounds that amphibians produce in the skin as antimicrobials and their later use as pheromones; to purify and test the efficacy of those compounds as antimicrobials and pheromones; and to identify the molecular mechanism used to smell those compounds. The results will be obtained through the use of bioinformatics and genomics to trace the genetic history of genes, protein biochemistry to isolate and test the gene products, behavioral experiments to determine which compounds function as pheromones, and electrophysiology to identify the neuronal mechanisms responsible for sensing the pheromones. Results from these studies will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and through presentations at scientific conferences. All data will be available upon request and deposited at Dryad and the NCBI Trace archive.