Olfactory Development: Cell Proliferation and Maturation

The University of Kentucky will work on identifying genes associated with postembryonic proliferation and development of new olfactory cells. The model organism used will be the spiny lobster Panulirus argus. The subcontract for the first year will be to perform experiments in Aim #1 of the grant proposal. These include: 1) Identifying the transcripts that are enriched in the cell proliferation zone of the olfactory organ. 2) Identifying the transcripts affects by treatments that induce cell proliferation, e.g., damage. 3) Identifying if these transcripts are associated with proliferation and/or maturation of olfactory receptor neurons. 4) Identifying the development of the expression of transcripts/proteins involved in maturation of olfactory receptor neurons. The techniques to be used will be representational difference analysis, quantitative PCR, in situ hybridization, immunocytochemistry, and dsRNA interference.