# Glomerular specific neuromodulation via differential serotonin receptor trafficking

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · 2021 · $154,500

## Abstract

This proposal examines the contribution of receptor trafficking in inhibitory interneurons for
establishing glomerulus-specific neuromodulation during olfactory. Current models of
neuromodulation in olfaction emphasize the activation of specific classes of neurons that
express a specific and dedicated class of neuromodulatory receptor, for example a single
serotonin receptor. In such models, local interneurons in the first stages of olfactory processing
may differentially innervate distinct olfactory glomeruli depending on the modulatory receptors
that they express. Here, we will challenge this view and develop tools to demonstrate that odor
specific modulation may occur not solely by targeting distinct cell classes, but also by the
dendrite specific modulation of local interneurons that span multiple olfactory glomeruli.
Specifically, we will develop tools to tag and track each serotonin receptor type in identified
classes of local interneurons in the Drosophila antennal lobe, the first olfactory relay.
Additionally, we will tag and label serotonin receptors in projection neurons that span multiple
olfactory neuropil to determine how serotonin receptors are trafficked across olfactory neuropil.
The Drosophila antennal lobe is an excellent model system for addressing these issues as its
organization is highly similar to the mammalian olfactory bulb, and the smaller number of cells in
the antennal lobe render it easier to study and characterize. Receptor tagging will be achieved
be editing the fly genome to express modified serotonin receptors that are fused with the 11th
fragment of the green fluorescent protein molecule, GFP. A genetic binary expression system
can then be used to express the remaining portion of the split-GFP molecule to selectively label
serotonin receptors in a specific cell class or individual neuron. We combine these tools with
expansion microcopy to examine the co-localization of serotonin receptors with presynaptic and
postsynaptic release sites within local interneuron and projection neurons populations. Finally,
we will generate a version of these tools using a split mCherry fluorescent molecule approach
so that the co-localization of serotonin receptor classes can be examined when local
interneurons express multiple classes of these receptors. These experiments will lay the
anatomical ground work for subsequent studies examining functional branch-specific
neuromodulation of wide-field local interneurons in early olfactory processing.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10190887
- **Project number:** 5R21DC018945-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
- **Principal Investigator:** Quentin Gaudry
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $154,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-12 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10190887

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10190887, Glomerular specific neuromodulation via differential serotonin receptor trafficking (5R21DC018945-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10190887. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*