PLENARY TALKS

Sensory integration via dual neural input constitutes active animal communication facilitates the evolution of reproductive system

Abstract

The survival of an animal species relies on the active interaction between sexual partners to ensure genetic material transmission to the next generation. Heavy selection pressure acts on the maintenance of their communication machineries. Using nematode as a model system, we demonstrate that active chemosensory communication acting through complex sensory input from two different neuronal groups plays an important role to ensure reproductive success. Distinct conserved signaling pathways and their components have been identified and shown to ensure male-female recognition. By monitoring the behavioral response in genetically manipulated animals and rewiring of their neural circuitry, we show that variant chemoreceptor and co-opt function of additional neurons are used to maintain robust intra-species activities. The understanding of the detailed mechanism and the identification of components offer the first time a glimpse into how speciation takes place under the influence of chemosensory modality. It allows us to contemplate the idea of repeating the speciation process in a fast track.

Biography: King L. Chow, Professor of Life Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, earned his PhD in Cell Biology from Baylor College of Medicine. After spending some years as a Belfer Fellow in the Molecular Genetics Department at Albert Einstein College of Medicine under the sponsorship of Martin Foundation, he returned to Hong Kong to assume an Assistant Professorship at HKUST. He rose to the current rank in the Division of Life Science in the following decade and concurrently holds the positions of the Associate Director of the Bioengineering Program, the Director of the Molecular Biomedical Sciences Program and the Associate Dean of Students at HKUST. Prof. Chow’s research work spans across a broad spectrum of biological sciences from basic molecular genetics, genomics, neural developmental biology, evolutionary of behavior and synthetic biology. His research is set on a platform using model organisms and probes into questions related to organ formation, neural differentiation and neural wiring, where he constantly integrates biology with physics, mathematical and engineering in collaboration with colleagues in different schools and departments.
He chaired the local organizing committee of the Synthetic Biology 4.0 Conference in 2008 which brought synthetic biology to Hong Kong. He heads the iGEM Asia Organizing Committee for 2011 and 2012, and serves as the chair of iGEM Asia Regional Council. He engages local academics, educators and industrialists to foster synthetic biology development and education in high school and undergraduate programs. Prof. Chow is active in teaching within the life science discipline and general education. He has taught a dozen different undergraduate and postgraduate courses in HKUST and CUHK, led various student competitions. The collective effort earns him the School of Science Teaching Award and the Michael G. Gale Medal of distinguished teaching of the university. He has been involved in a number of Teaching Development Projects, serves on numerous curriculum committees at HKUST as well as other local institutions to bring about institutional education reform in Science Education.