Octopamine is a major invertebrate monoamine and is considered a counterpart of mammalian norepinephrine. To understand how octopamine regulates adaptive behaviors of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the current project focuses on a major receptor for octopamine OAMB that displays prominent expression in the mushroom bodies, brain structures crucial for learning and memory. Thus, the major objective of this research is to test the hypothesis that OAMB activates key cellular signaling pathways in the mushroom bodies, which underlies associative learning and memory. Preliminary data revealed that oamb mutants showed poor learning in reward conditioning (capacity to learn and remember the odor previously associated with sugar) and impaired short-term memory in conditioned courtship (courtship suppression of rejected males). In the present studies, oamb mutants and their transgenic variants will be further examined to elucidate specific roles of OAMB in learning and memory, the brain structure(s) that requires OAMB for those functions, and intracellular signaling molecules activated by OAMB. These studies together will help delineate the cellular mechanisms underlying reward learning and conditioned courtship. Considering a remarkable functional conservation of key molecules between Drosophila and other animals, knowledge obtained from the proposed studies will ultimately provide significant insights into how different environmental factors and genetic components affect learning and memory processes in other animals including humans. The present studies employ diverse experimental approaches including molecular, cellular, genetic, biochemical, statistical, and behavioral analyses and thus will offer multidisciplinary training and learning opportunities for students. Indeed, the PI has been actively engaged in training diverse groups of students including underrepresented minorities and women as well as offering research opportunities for high school students and various summer program participants. Thus, this project will have broader impact by enhancing participation of diverse student groups in research and integrating research into education.
