Projects / Programmes
Information and energy in animal sensory systems
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 1.03.00 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
Biology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| B360 |
Biomedical sciences |
Animal physiology |
| B361 |
Biomedical sciences |
Physiology of invertebrates |
senses, Calliphora, Drosophila, Pyrrhocoris, photoreceptor, eye, mechanoreceptor, trichobotria, metabolism, mitochondria, transgenic animals, electrophysiology, microspectrophotometry, microrespirometry
Researchers (7)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Our senses inform us of changes that occur in the environment. In certain cases very stringent criteria have to be met in order for the information to be of sufficient quality. A quality information however has a higher price tag. In the course of evolution some of the most optimised and energy-efficient solutions of environmental physical changes conversion into nervous information were developed in insects. Yet these solutions are still very much related to mechanisms encountered in man. In our work we will therefore use insects - a blowfly Calliphora vicina, fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster and a plant stinkbug Pyrrhocoris apterus as model organisms to study the linkage and influence of energy metabolism on the process of conversion of sensory into nervous information. Blowflies and fruitflies will be used to study the detection of light and stinkbugs the detection of mechanical information. As for the process of light detection, we are interested in its energy support and the regulation of time coordination of the both. These processes will be studied by dynamic microrespirometrical and microspectrophotometrical methods and by the aid of animals containing genetically transformed proteins which mediate the conversion of light information. In order to study the higly energetically demanding process of termination of response to light, electrophysiological methods will be applied. The reason for such high energy requirement is far from being completely understood. On the other hand, we will study the processes of conversion of mechanical stimuli, such as air flow, into neural information and the link of conversion to energy metabolism. We are also interested in mechanical information coding and the dependence of this process on the ambient temperature and gas composition. Since the insect senses are highly optimised and efficient, they represent an excellent model for production of artificial - bionic sensors. Therefore, the results of our investigations and our experimental experience are intended to be used through cooperation with the research groups from the Faculty of electrotechnics and the Faculty of computer sciences and informatics in order to conceive and manufacture new generations of sensors for non-invasive diagnostics.
