![Wynand van der Goes Van Naters](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/1243?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Wynand van der Goes Van Naters
Senior Lecturer
School of Biosciences
Overview
Research overview
We are interested in the molecular basis of smell and taste in insects. Smell and taste provide fundamental questions in biology –in the molecular neurobiology of behaviour, in development, in learning and memory, in chemical ecology and in evolution. Insects often locate and select the hosts from which they feed, and find sites for laying eggs, by chemical cues. Smell and taste also play important roles in mate choice (Figure 1) and other social interactions. Insects include some of the most serious vectors of disease, and cause enormous losses in agriculture. New methods for insect control may come from a molecular understanding of the senses of smell and taste. For an overview see Van der Goes van Naters WM & Carlson JR (2006) Nature 444: 302-307.
A second research direction is the function of P2X receptors in model invertebrates.
Publication
2020
- Grimes, L., Griffiths, J., Pasqualetto, G., Brancale, A., Kemp, P. J., Young, M. T. and van der Goes van Naters, W. 2020. Drosophila taste neurons as an agonist-screening platform for P2X receptors. Scientific Reports 10, article number: 8292. (10.1038/s41598-020-65169-9)
2019
- Smith, G. A. et al. 2019. Glutathione-S-transferase regulates mitochondrial populations in axons through increased glutathione oxidation. Neuron 103(1), pp. 52-65.e6. (10.1016/j.neuron.2019.04.017)
2014
- Ray, A., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Carlson, J. R. 2014. Molecular determinants of odorant receptor function in insects. Journal of Biosciences 39(4), pp. 555-563. (10.1007/s12038-014-9447-7)
- Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. 2014. Drosophila pheromones: from reception to perception. In: Mucignat-Caretta, C. ed. Neurobiology of Chemical Communication. Boca Raton,: CRC Press, pp. 211-227.
2013
- Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. 2013. Inhibition among olfactory receptor neurons. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 7, article number: 690. (10.3389/fnhum.2013.00690)
2008
- Ray, A., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Carlson, J. R. 2008. A regulatory code for neuron-specific odor receptor expression. PLoS Biology 6(5), article number: e125. (10.1371/journal.pbio.0060125)
2007
- Ejima, A. et al. 2007. Generalization of courtship learning in Drosophila is mediated by cis-vaccenyl acetate. Current Biology 17(7), pp. 599-605. (10.1016/j.cub.2007.01.053)
- Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Carlson, J. 2007. Receptors and neurons for fly odors in Drosophila. Current Biology 17(7), pp. 606-612. (10.1016/j.cub.2007.02.043)
- Ray, A., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W., Shiraiwa, T. and Carlson, J. R. 2007. Mechanisms of odor receptor gene choice in Drosophila. Neuron 53(3), pp. 353-369. (10.1016/j.neuron.2006.12.010)
2006
- Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Carlson, J. R. 2006. Insects as chemosensors of humans and crops. Nature 444(7117), pp. 302-307. (10.1038/nature05403)
2003
- Dobritsa, A. A., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W., Warr, C. G., Steinbrecht, R. A. and Carlson, J. R. 2003. Integrating the molecular and cellular basis of odor coding in the Drosophila antenna. Neuron -Cambridge Ma- 5(6), pp. 827-841. (10.1016/S0896-6273(03)00094-1)
2002
- Pophof, B. and Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. 2002. Activation and inhibition of the transduction process in silkmoth olfactory receptor neurons. Chemical Senses 27(5), pp. 435-443. (10.1093/chemse/27.5.435)
2001
- Dahanukar, A., Foster, K., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Carlson, J. R. 2001. A Gr receptor is required for response to the sugar rehalose in taste neurons of Drosophiila. Nature Neuroscience 4(12), pp. 1182-1186. (10.1038/nn765)
1999
- Voskamp, K. E., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Den Otter, C. J. 1999. Comparison of single cell sensitivities to attractants in the tsetse Glossina fuscipes fuscipes, G-morsitans morsitans and G-pallidipes. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 13(4), pp. 460-462. (10.1046/j.1365-2915.1999.00186.x)
Adrannau llyfrau
- Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. 2014. Drosophila pheromones: from reception to perception. In: Mucignat-Caretta, C. ed. Neurobiology of Chemical Communication. Boca Raton,: CRC Press, pp. 211-227.
Erthyglau
- Grimes, L., Griffiths, J., Pasqualetto, G., Brancale, A., Kemp, P. J., Young, M. T. and van der Goes van Naters, W. 2020. Drosophila taste neurons as an agonist-screening platform for P2X receptors. Scientific Reports 10, article number: 8292. (10.1038/s41598-020-65169-9)
- Smith, G. A. et al. 2019. Glutathione-S-transferase regulates mitochondrial populations in axons through increased glutathione oxidation. Neuron 103(1), pp. 52-65.e6. (10.1016/j.neuron.2019.04.017)
- Ray, A., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Carlson, J. R. 2014. Molecular determinants of odorant receptor function in insects. Journal of Biosciences 39(4), pp. 555-563. (10.1007/s12038-014-9447-7)
- Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. 2013. Inhibition among olfactory receptor neurons. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 7, article number: 690. (10.3389/fnhum.2013.00690)
- Ray, A., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Carlson, J. R. 2008. A regulatory code for neuron-specific odor receptor expression. PLoS Biology 6(5), article number: e125. (10.1371/journal.pbio.0060125)
- Ejima, A. et al. 2007. Generalization of courtship learning in Drosophila is mediated by cis-vaccenyl acetate. Current Biology 17(7), pp. 599-605. (10.1016/j.cub.2007.01.053)
- Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Carlson, J. 2007. Receptors and neurons for fly odors in Drosophila. Current Biology 17(7), pp. 606-612. (10.1016/j.cub.2007.02.043)
- Ray, A., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W., Shiraiwa, T. and Carlson, J. R. 2007. Mechanisms of odor receptor gene choice in Drosophila. Neuron 53(3), pp. 353-369. (10.1016/j.neuron.2006.12.010)
- Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Carlson, J. R. 2006. Insects as chemosensors of humans and crops. Nature 444(7117), pp. 302-307. (10.1038/nature05403)
- Dobritsa, A. A., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W., Warr, C. G., Steinbrecht, R. A. and Carlson, J. R. 2003. Integrating the molecular and cellular basis of odor coding in the Drosophila antenna. Neuron -Cambridge Ma- 5(6), pp. 827-841. (10.1016/S0896-6273(03)00094-1)
- Pophof, B. and Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. 2002. Activation and inhibition of the transduction process in silkmoth olfactory receptor neurons. Chemical Senses 27(5), pp. 435-443. (10.1093/chemse/27.5.435)
- Dahanukar, A., Foster, K., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Carlson, J. R. 2001. A Gr receptor is required for response to the sugar rehalose in taste neurons of Drosophiila. Nature Neuroscience 4(12), pp. 1182-1186. (10.1038/nn765)
- Voskamp, K. E., Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. and Den Otter, C. J. 1999. Comparison of single cell sensitivities to attractants in the tsetse Glossina fuscipes fuscipes, G-morsitans morsitans and G-pallidipes. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 13(4), pp. 460-462. (10.1046/j.1365-2915.1999.00186.x)
Research
Identification and function of sex pheromones and their receptors in Drosophila
Jodie Wren, PhD
Insects not only use their senses of smell and taste to find the animal or plant hosts from which they feed and to find sites for laying eggs, but also to communicate with each other. Mating is the outcome of successful courtship, and the basis of courtship is communication between males and females. We recently showed that a large proportion (~20%) of the olfactory sensory neurons in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster respond specifically to fly odours and we identified several receptors that mediate these responses. This suggests olfactory sex pheromones may play an important role in the reproductive behaviour of Drosophila. We are identifying new olfactory sex pheromones in Drosophila and are determining their function in courtship. We are using a previously developed assay system to test each of the receptors' sensitivity to fly odours and are identifying the components in the fly odours that activate the receptors. In behavioural experiments, we explore how the flies use their receptors to distinguish suitable from unsuitable mates. Fruit flies belong to the order of the Diptera. The Diptera also include mosquitoes and biting flies that transmit serious diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and trypanosomiasis. An understanding of sex pheromone communication in one fly species may elucidate general principles of Dipteran courtship, and may lead to new strategies of insect control by giving us the tools to disrupt the insects' reproductive behaviour.
P2X receptors
Stuart Hanmer
ATP is an important signaling molecule in addition to being an intracellular energy source. P2X receptors are ion channels gated by ATP that have been shown to express widely in mammalian tissues. Very little is known of the distribution and function of P2X receptors in model organisms that are more experimentally tractable than mammals. The importance of P2X receptors in health and disease is becoming increasingly clear, making it urgent to understand (1) the range of physiological functions of the P2X receptor family, (2) how P2X mediated signaling regulates cellular function and (3) how P2X receptors transduce the binding of ATP to a change in ionic conductance. We are studying the physiological function of candidate P2X receptors in several invertebrate organisms, and also investigate the molecular mechanisms and pharmacology of ATP reception by P2X receptors heterologously expressed in HEK cells. This research is in collaboration with Prof. Paul Kemp, Division of Pathophysiology and Repair.
Group members
Current
- Claire Dumenil (graduate student)
- Dr Leanne Grimes (post-doc)
Former
- Fay Cooper (undergraduate researcher -currently a graduate student at the University of Edinburgh)
- Danny Filer (undergraduate researcher)
- Stuart Hanmer (graduate student)
- Kimberley Smith (undergraduate researcher -currently a graduate student at the Royal Veterinary College, London)
- Katherine Taylor (undergraduate researcher)
- Dr Jodie Wren (post-doc)
Funding
- BBSRC
- CSBI project grant
- Olympus Early Career Scientist Microscopy Award 2008
- Welsh Livery Guild Travel Scholarship 2010 to Stuart Hanmer
Biography
Honours and awards
Prof. John Pickett (School of Chemistry) and I were awarded a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded grant to study olfaction in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae, which is the main vector of malaria.
Contact Details
+44 29208 74127
Sir Martin Evans Building, Room Cardiff School of Biosciences, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX