From hot and spicy to cold and clammy: thermal and chemical sensing in Drosophila

Paul Garrity (Brandeis)

Thermal and chemical sensation drive many aspects of animal physiology and behavior, including navigation and feeding. From a molecular perspective, thermal and chemical detectors like TRP channels and Gustatory Receptors are remarkable devices that respond to small changes in thermal energy and chemical milieu with dramatic changes in activity. Despite their physiological significance, the molecular mechanisms and neural pathways through which such sensors act remain poorly understood. We combine molecular genetics, behavior, and physiology to discover new classes of molecular sensors and to examine how these sensors operate and evolve.