Emma Goetz, UW-Oshkosh researcher is studying smell and taste in beetles,
A UW-Oshkosh researcher is studying the smell and taste in a specific beetle as part of $1.3 million study. Emma Goetz reports.
According to UW Oshkosh today, over the next five years Robert Mitchell and his team of researchers will be studying the taste and smell in Long-horned beetles as part of a $1.3 million fund provided by the National Science Foundation. The research could help scientists battle the Asian long-horned beetle which kills a variety of trees like the ones here in Oshkosh. “Attractive odors are especially important in this situation since they can be used to bait traps that monitor for the presence of beetles and mark out the limits of the infestation,” Mitchell said. “Considering that long-horned beetles represent a pool of potential pests that is 35,000 species deep, it is important to learn more about their biology,” Mitchell stated. Very little is known about these creatures so Mitchell will be using his lab here at UW Oshkosh to identify the chemoreceptor genes within these beetles. Mitchell states, “These are the proteins that detect odors and tastes, a bit like how a lock takes a key. Activating chemoreceptors with the right odor will spring the nervous system, induce a sense of smell and generate behavior,” he said. “Over the course of this grant, we will be sequencing the complete genomes of 15 long-horned beetle species and partially sequencing another 30 species. I expect to find several thousand chemoreceptor genes.” The funding provided by the NSF will help Mitchell and other undergraduate students starting next fall.
