The structure of the nasal chemosensory system in squamate reptiles. 2. Lubricatory capacity of the vomeronasal organ

2000 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan J. Rehorek ◽  
Bruce T. Firth ◽  
Mark N. Hutchinson
Keyword(s):  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Chemosensory System ◽  
Squamate Reptiles

scholarly journals Coadaptation of the chemosensory system with voluntary exercise behavior in mice

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0241758
Author(s):  
Quynh Anh Thi Nguyen ◽  
David Hillis ◽  
Sayako Katada ◽  
Timothy Harris ◽  
Crystal Pontrello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Selective Breeding ◽  
Wheel Running ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Voluntary Exercise ◽  
Wild Mice ◽  
Chemosensory System ◽  
Chemosensory Receptors ◽  
Receptor Clusters ◽  
Rewarding Behavior ◽  
And Control

Ethologically relevant chemical senses and behavioral habits are likely to coadapt in response to selection. As olfaction is involved in intrinsically motivated behaviors in mice, we hypothesized that selective breeding for a voluntary behavior would enable us to identify novel roles of the chemosensory system. Voluntary wheel running (VWR) is an intrinsically motivated and naturally rewarding behavior, and even wild mice run on a wheel placed in nature. We have established 4 independent, artificially evolved mouse lines by selectively breeding individuals showing high VWR activity (High Runners; HRs), together with 4 non-selected Control lines, over 88 generations. We found that several sensory receptors in specific receptor clusters were differentially expressed between the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of HRs and Controls. Moreover, one of those clusters contains multiple single-nucleotide polymorphism loci for which the allele frequencies were significantly divergent between the HR and Control lines, i.e., loci that were affected by the selective breeding protocol. These results indicate that the VNO has become genetically differentiated between HR and Control lines during the selective breeding process. Although the role of the vomeronasal chemosensory receptors in VWR activity remains to be determined, the current results suggest that these vomeronasal chemosensory receptors are important quantitative trait loci for voluntary exercise in mice. We propose that olfaction may play an important role in motivation for voluntary exercise in mammals.

scholarly journals Coadaptation of the chemosensory system with voluntary exercise behavior in mice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quynh Anh Thi Nguyen ◽  
David Hillis ◽  
Sayako Katada ◽  
Timothy Harris ◽  
Crystal Pontrello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Selective Breeding ◽  
Wheel Running ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Voluntary Exercise ◽  
Wild Mice ◽  
Chemosensory System ◽  
Voluntary Behavior ◽  
Receptor Clusters ◽  
Rewarding Behavior ◽  
And Control

AbstractEthologically relevant chemical senses and behavioral habits are likely to coadapt in response to selection. As olfaction is involved in intrinsically motivated behaviors in mice, we hypothesized that selective breeding for a voluntary behavior would enable us to identify novel roles of the chemosensory system. Voluntary wheel running (VWR) is an intrinsically motivated and naturally rewarding behavior, and even wild mice run on a wheel placed in nature. We have established 4 independent, artificially evolved mouse lines by selectively breeding individuals showing high VWR activity (High Runners; HRs), together with 4 non-selected Control lines, over 88 generations. We found that several sensory receptors in specific receptor clusters were differentially expressed between the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of HRs and Controls. Moreover, one of those clusters contains multiple single-nucleotide polymorphism loci for which the allele frequencies were significantly divergent between the HR and Control lines, i.e., loci that were affected by the selective breeding protocol. These results indicate that the VNO has become genetically differentiated between HR and Control lines during the selective breeding process, strongly suggesting the chemosensory receptors as quantitative trait loci (QTL) for voluntary exercise in mice. We propose that olfaction may play an important role in motivation for voluntary exercise in mammals.

Chemosensory genes in the head of Spodoptera litura larvae

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Lu-Lu Li ◽  
Ji-Wei Xu ◽  
Wei-Chen Yao ◽  
Hui-Hui Yang ◽  
Youssef Dewer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spodoptera Litura ◽  
Phylogenetic Trees ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Insect Pest ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Larval Feeding ◽  
Chemosensory System ◽  
Chemosensory Genes

Abstract The tobacco cutworm Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous pest with a highly selective and sensitive chemosensory system involved in complex physiological behaviors such as searching for food sources, feeding, courtship, and oviposition. However, effective management strategies for controlling the insect pest populations under threshold levels are lacking. Therefore, there is an urgent need to formulate eco-friendly pest control strategies based on the disruption of the insect chemosensory system. In this study, we identified 158 putative chemosensory genes based on transcriptomic and genomic data for S. litura, including 45 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs, nine were new), 23 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 60 odorant receptors (ORs, three were new), and 30 gustatory receptors (GRs, three were new), a number higher than those reported by previous transcriptome studies. Subsequently, we constructed phylogenetic trees based on these genes in moths and analyzed the dynamic expression of various genes in head capsules across larval instars using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Nine genes–SlitOBP8, SlitOBP9, SlitOBP25, SlitCSP1, SlitCSP7, SlitCSP18, SlitOR34, SlitGR240, and SlitGR242–were highly expressed in the heads of 3- to 5-day-old S. litura larvae. The genes differentially expressed in olfactory organs during larval development might play crucial roles in the chemosensory system of S. litura larvae. Our findings substantially expand the gene inventory for S. litura and present potential target genes for further studies on larval feeding in S. litura.

scholarly journals From immune to olfactory expression: neofunctionalization of formyl peptide receptors

2021 ◽  
Vol 383 (1) ◽  
pp. 387-393
Author(s):  
Madlaina Boillat ◽  
Alan Carleton ◽  
Ivan Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Formyl Peptide Receptor ◽  
Regulatory Sequence ◽  
Powerful Source ◽  
Peptide Receptor ◽  
Gene Shuffling ◽  
Evolutionary Innovation ◽  
Vomeronasal Receptor ◽  
Formyl Peptide

Abstract Variations in gene expression patterns represent a powerful source of evolutionary innovation. In a rodent living about 70 million years ago, a genomic accident led an immune formyl peptide receptor (FPR) gene to hijack a vomeronasal receptor regulatory sequence. This gene shuffling event forced an immune pathogen sensor to transition into an olfactory chemoreceptor, which thus moved from sensing the internal world to probing the outside world. We here discuss the evolution of the FPR gene family, the events that led to their neofunctionalization in the vomeronasal organ and the functions of immune and vomeronasal FPRs.

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