Hamida Khbaish

PhD student Chemical ecology V building +46 40 41 53 23 +46 762 74 90 45 hamida.khbaish@slu.se

Postal address Dept. of Plant Protection Biology  Box 102 SE-230 53 Alnarp Sweden Visiting address                         Delivery address Sundsvägen 14                           Växtskyddsvägen 3

Education

BSc in general biology from the Seventh of April University in Libya. 2001

Research projects

Previous project
In a collaboration with another PhD student in our group, Jonas Bengtsson, I have characterized morphological and physiological types of olfactory sensilla in P. interrupta and P. marginata by means of scanning electron microscopy and electrophysiological recordings (Single Sensillum Recording) measurement from single sensilla. Both species have similar lamellate antennae covered mostly with numerous olfactory sensilla placodea and a lesser number of other types, mainly sensilla coeloconica (grooved peg) and smooth peg. The olfactory systems of these two species displayed an amazing degree of conservatism, with 25 identified olfactory neuron classes, which were found in both species with no detectable difference in response profiles expect two olfactory receptor neuron classes methyl benzoate and gamma-nonalactone which found mainly in Pachnoda marginata. In general the two species showed the same degree of conservatism which was displayed in the arrangement of neurons within sensilla, where all combinations of responding neurons were found in both species.

Current project
I am going to study immunocytochemical localization of serotonin in the mushroom body of P. marginata brain. I will also do behavior bioassays in D. melanogaster subgroups, this project is still in planning.