Nick Bellono
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Harvard University

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Unique Sensory System Adaptations

Sensory systems often show enhanced rates of adaptation or evolutionary drift compared with other systems, reflecting an organism’s need to adapt to a specific ecological niche. Indeed, highly specialized structures have evolved to detect a diverse array of environmental stimuli using specific receptors and signaling cascades to discriminate salient cues. Our goal is to leverage these integrative systems to understand how cells detect disparate signals in response to changing environmental or physiological conditions. Here, I will describe our studies regarding molecular and cellular mechanisms of signal transduction in unique sensory systems.