Dr Marien de Bruijne - Researcher Profile

Biography

Marien works in the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University as a Senior Research Fellow

Marien’s research areas of interest are:

 

The chemical senses are crucial to the survival of most insects. How are olfactory and gustatory systems adapted to the chemical environment that a particular species finds itself in? How do chemical stimuli drive resource-oriented behaviours? Answering these questions will help us understand how pest insects find us and our crops as well as provide insight into fundamental coding properties of our own brain.

Odours are detected by olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). Large numbers of these neurons occur in our nose and in the antennae of insects. They are organized in response classes, each tuned to a different range of chemicals. Odours are thus encoded across an array of detectors, often with overlapping sensitivities. Because it has a relatively small number of these coding units, Drosophila has become a favourite model for studying the neurobiology and development of the olfactory system.

The response properties of ORNs can be studied with electrophysiological methods. Molecular and genetic methods can be used to target cells or proteins of the olfactory system. A family of 60 receptor genes has provided a molecular explanation for the response properties of different neuronal classes. How do tuning properties of the neurons relate to the expression of members of the receptor gene family? How are innate behavioural responses driven by this system of genes and ORN classes?

The combination of detailed physiological analysis and powerful genetic techniques allows us to study the cellular mechanisms of odour detection as well as compare odour coding across species. For instance, carbon dioxide is a chemical stimulus that perceived by a single neuron class in many insect species. In Drosophila we can manipulate these neurons genetically.

Honours projects for prospective students

 

Keywords

Chemical senses, Olfactory receptor neurons

Qualifications

ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY

Institution: University of Neuchatel, Switzerland

Year awarded: 1996

BIOLOGY (ORGANISMAL)

Institution: Agricultural University Wageningen, Netherlands

Year awarded: 1990

Publications

Book Chapters

de Bruijne, M., 2006, Visualizing a fly's nose: Genetic and physiological techniques for studying odour coding in Drosophila, in Chemical Ecology: From Gene to Ecosystem, eds Marcel Dicke and Willem Takken, Springer, Dordrecht The Netherlands, pp. 105-125.

de Bruijne, M., 2003, Physiology and genetics of odor perception in Drosophila, in Insect pheromone biochemistry and molecular biology, eds Gary Blomquist and Richard Vogt, Elsevier Academic Press, London UK, pp. 651-698.

Journal Articles

Tunstall, N.E., Herr, A., de Bruijne, M., Warr, C.G., 2012, A screen for genes expressed in the olfactory organs of Drosophila melanogaster identifies genes involved in olfactory behaviour, PLoS ONE [P], vol 7, issue 4, Public Library Science, San Francisco USA, pp. 1-11.

Marshall, B.K., Warr, C.G., de Bruijne, M., 2010, Detection of volatile indicators of illicit substances by the olfactory receptors of Drosophila melanogaster, Chemical Senses [P], vol 35, issue 7, Oxford University Press, Oxford England, pp. 613-625.

Tom, W., de Bruijne, M., Haehnel, M., Carlson, J.R., Ray, A., 2010, Disruption of olfactory receptor neuron patterning in Scutoid mutant Drosophila, Molecular And Cellular Neuroscience [P], vol 46, issue 1, Elsevier Science Ltd, London England, pp. 252-261.

de Bruijne, M., Smart, R.S., Zammit, E.A., Warr, C.G., 2010, Functional and molecular evolution of olfactory neurons and receptors for aliphatic esters across the Drosophila genus, Journal Of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural And Behavioral Physiology [P], vol 196, issue 2, Springer, New York USA, pp. 97-109.

Baker, T., de Bruijne, M., 2008, Odor detection in insects: Volatile codes, Journal of Chemical Ecology, vol 34, Springer Science, Netherlands, pp. 882-897.

Schmuker, M., de Bruijne, M., Hahnel, M., Schneider, G., 2007, Predicting olfactory receptor neuron responses from odorant structure, Chemistry Central Journal, vol 1, issue 11, BioMed Central Ltd, United States, United Kingdom, pp. 1-10.

Faucher, C., Forstreuter, M., Hilker, M., de Bruijne, M., 2006, Behavioral responses of Drosophila to biogenic levels of carbon dioxide depend on life-stage, sex and olfactory context, Journal of Experimental Biology, vol 209, The Company of Biologists, Cambridge England, pp. 2739-2748.

De Bruyne, M., Warr, C.G., 2006, Molecular and cellular organization of insect chemosensory neurons, BioEssays, vol 28, issue 1, John Wiley, Hoboken USA, pp. 23-34.

Pelz, D., Roeske, T., de Bruijne, M., Galizia, C.G., 2006, The molecular receptive range of an olfactory receptor in vivo (Drosophila melanogaster Or22a), Journal of Neurobiology, vol 66, Wiley Science, USA, pp. 1544-1563.

Sharma, P., Asztalos, Z., Ayyub, C., de Bruijne, M., Dornan, A.J., Gomez-Hernandez, A., Killeen, J., Kramer, S., Madhavan, M., Sherkhane, P.D., Siddiqi, K., Silva, E., Carlson, J.R., Goodwin, S.F., Heisenberg, M., Krishnan, K., Kyriacou, C.P., Partridge, L., Riesgo-Escovar, J., Rodrigues, V., Tully, T., O'Kane, C.J., 2005, Isogenic autosomes to be applied in optimal screening for novel mutants with viable phenotypes in Drosophila melanogaster, Journal of Neurogenetics, vol 19, Informa Healthcare, USA, pp. 57-85.

Park, S.-., Shanbhag, S.R., Dubin, A.E., de Bruijne, M., Wang, Q., Yu, P., Shimoni, N., D'Mello, S., Carlson, J.R., Harris, G.L., Steinbrecht, R.A., Pikielny, C.W., 2002, Inactivation of olfactory sensilla of a single morphological type differentially affects the response of Drosophila to odors, Journal of Neurobiology, vol 51, Wiley, USA, pp. 248-260.

de Bruijne, M., Foster, K., Carlson, J.R., 2001, Odor coding in the Drosophila antenna, Neuron, vol 30, Cell Press, Cambridge USA MA, pp. 537-552.

Warr, C.G., Clyne, P.J., De Bruyne, M., Kim, J., Carlson, J.R., 2001, Olfaction in Drosophila: coding, genetics and e-genetics, Chemical Senses, vol 26, Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford England, pp. 201-206.

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

Natural variation in odorant receptor ligand-binding properties in Drosophila melanogaster.

Supervisors:

Warr, C (Main), De Bruyne, M (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

The generation of olfactory neuronal signals: genetics and electrophysiology.

Supervisors:

Warr, C (Main), De Bruyne, M (Associate).