Thesis Project Membrane receptor and Ion Channel (RCIM) laboratory, Neuroethology group Faculty of Life Sciences, University

of Angers, France Supervisors: Sylvia Anton and Christophe Gadenne In the framework of a nationally funded project (program ANR Bioadapt, see description of the project below), a three-year position for a PhD student is available to start between October 2012 and January 2013. The successful candidate will work on the effects of sublethal doses of a neonicotinoid insecticide (clothianidin) on the olfactory system of an agricultural pest insect, a noctuid moth, using behavioural, electrophysiological and molecular approaches. The PhD student will work in the neuroethology group of a University/National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA) laboratory in strong interaction with neurobiologists working on insecticide action on the nervous system of insects (http://www.angersnantes.inra.fr/rcim). Angers is a small University town in the west of France close to the Loire river and just south of Brittany. Angers has many research teams in plant biology including plant protection. The host group has strong interactions with several national and international laboratories. The proposed PhD project is based on a close collaboration with the Insect Physiology group at INRA Versailles/Paris 6 University and the Zoology department at the University of Wrzburg, Germany. We search for a highly motivated student with an accomplished Master or equivalent with research experience in behavioural sciences and/or neurophysiology. Good oral and written English skills are necessary and basic comprehension of French is highly recommended to allow integration in a local doctoral school. Candidates should send a CV and application letter to: Sylvia Anton and Christophe Gadenne Rcepteurs et Canaux Ioniques Membranaires (RCIM), UPRES-EA 2647 USC INRA 1330, UFR Sciences, Universit d'Angers, 2, Boulevard Lavoisier, 49045 Angers cedex 01, France Informal inquiries can be done at any time by phone or e-mail: Tel: +33 (0)2 41 73 52 12/ 52 43 Mail: Sylvia.anton@angers.inra.fr / christophe.gadenne@angers.inra.fr

Project description ANR Bioadapt "PHEROTOX" Most animals live in an odour world and depend strongly on chemical stimuli to get information on their biotic and abiotic environment. In insects such as Lepidoptera, which include many important agricultural pests at the larval stage, males are attracted by sex pheromones emitted by conspecific females. Although integrated pest management strategies are increasingly developed, most insect pest treatments rely on neurotoxic chemicals, including neonicotinoid insecticides. These molecules such as the widely used, last generation insecticide clothianidin are known to disrupt synaptic transmission through nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. The wide-spread use of neurotoxic insecticides results in residual accumulation of low concentrations in the environment. This environmental stress probably acts as an info-disruptor by modifying the chemical communication system, and therefore decreases chances of reproduction in target insects. However, low doses of pollutants can induce a non-expected hormesis effect by enhancing reproduction abilities. Low insecticide doses might thus induce adaptive processes in the olfactory pathway of target insects, which could allow them to bypass this stress, favouring the development of insecticide resistance. Although the effect of sublethal doses of insecticides have been shown to alter various behaviours of beneficial insects such as honeybees, little is known on the adaptive mechanisms to the stress caused by insecticides developed in lepidopteran pests. Previous data show that sublethal doses of insecticides disrupt the behavioural response to sex pheromone in many insect species, but the mechanisms underlying this disruption have not been clarified. Here we aim at investigating the adaptive mechanisms of the olfactory system of noctuid moths as a response to the stress caused by sublethal doses of neonicotinoid insecticides from the behavioural to the cellular level. In noctuid moths we have previously shown different forms of neuronal olfactory plasticity, which show that responses to pheromone can be modulated as a function of physiological state or previous experience, rendering the moth an excellent model for our project. Using behavioural, electrophysiological, and molecular approaches, we will investigate the effects of sublethal doses of clothianidin after larval (which is the target stage of most field treatments) and adult treatments on the response of adult males to the sex pheromone throughout the olfactory pathway. We will test effects on the behavioural response to sex pheromone and its plasticity in a wind tunnel. At the physiological level, we will study effects on electrophysiological responses of olfactory neurons on the antennae and in the antennal lobes. Effects on the moth brain will also be investigated using calcium imaging and brain volumetry techniques. At the molecular level, we will analyse effects on both the transcriptomes and proteomes of the antennae and the brain, in order to highlight regulated processes. Specific attention will be given to gene families 1) known to be involved in olfaction such as genes coding for olfactory receptors and detoxification enzymes, and 2) known as targets for clothianidin: the nicotinic receptors.