Xavier Grosmaitre (now enjoying patch clamp as a postdoc in Philadelphia)

Xavier did his PhD thesis in our laboratory in 1997-2000. We were intrigued by the discovery of octopamine receptors expressed within olfactory sensilla of Heliothis spp. moths and wanted to find if octopamine and biogenic amines would affect the responses of olfactory and gustatory neurones in moths, namely in Mamestra brassicae. Xavier did mostly electrophysiological recordings on antenna of adult male moths, stimulated with female pheromonal compounds. He did also anatomical observations on the tarsae of adults, and collaborated with Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly to elucidate the sequence of a receptor gene for octopamine, which they found very similar to the one cloned earlier in Heliothis.

One of the main conclusions from his work, is that octopamine (and agonists) affects the responses of olfactory receptor neurones to very low levels of stimulation of pheromone. This suggests that octopamine might be implied in inhibiting background adaptation. He also showed that octopamine affects the sensitivity of taste neurones.

The title of his PhD thesis was :

Modulation of chemical perception by biogenic amines in Mamestra brassicae (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae): electrophysiological, molecular and behavioral study.

Publication :

• Grosmaitre X., Marion-Poll F., Renou M. (2001) Biogenic Amines Modulate Olfactory Receptor Neurons Firing Activity in Mamestra brassicae. Chem. Senses 26:  653-661

After his PhD thesis, he joined the group of Gordon Shepherd in Yale (USA) for a post-doctoral work. Now (july 2003), he starts a postdoc at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, with Dr Lledo.

[back]     Last revised:  janvier 19, 2014