The major goal of this project is to study the molecular mechanisms of learning and memory. The approach consists of isolating single-gene mutations that affect learning and memory in Drosophila, followed by cloning of the genes to understand their functions and regulations. In parallel, biochemical studies of normal and mutant flies can help to determine the physiological pathways involved with learning in flies. The work performed by Dr. Timothy Tully is exploratory in nature since it will make use of Polymerase Chain Reaction technology to isolate and identify new amnesiac alleles with the use of a commonly used mutagen. Characterization of the gene products of these alleles will potentially provide new insight specific to memory, and studies of its interaction with other gene products may outline the relationship between learning and memory.
