Project description
Venoms are complex cocktails proteins and peptides, known collectively as toxins, that each target a specific receptor or physiological pathway with great potency and selectivity. In stinging hymenopterans such as bees, wasps, and ants, toxins comprise almost exclusively short peptides that target ion channels and cell membranes to cause paralysis, pain, and death in a wide range of animals. Although these toxins have been studied for decades, we know little about how these toxins are produced, activated and/or prevented from damaging the glands themselves.
One key enzyme candidate that has been proposed to function as a toxin activator in hymenopteran venom is the proteolytic enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP4). This project will characterize toxin processing in the common European fire ant, Myrmica rubra, to test the hypothesis that DPP4 functions as a key regulator of toxin activation in hymenopteran venoms. The outcome will provide new fundamental understanding of how peptide toxins from venom are produced and processed.
What you will do
- Design/make fluorescent probes for Myrmica DPP4 and multiple toxins
- Perform RNA FISH to find secretion location of DPP4 and toxins
- Use mass spectrometry-based methods for determining distribution of both activated toxins and their inactive precursors
Who should apply
This project is suitable for Master students in evolutionary biology, molecular biology and related fields. Applicants should be interested in insect biology and the molecular regulation of venom processing.