scholarly journals Concanavalin A reveals olfactory receptors which discriminate between alkane odorants on the basis of size

1989 ◽  
Vol 262 (2) ◽  
pp. 475-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
E H Polak ◽  
S G Shirley ◽  
G H Dodd
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory Epithelium ◽  
Concanavalin A ◽  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Olfactory Receptors ◽  
Receptor Molecule ◽  
Maximum Reduction ◽  
Equimolar Concentration ◽  
Alkyl Moiety ◽  
Odour Discrimination

For certain odorants, the amplitude of the rat electro-olfactogram is reduced if the olfactory epithelium is treated with the lectin concanavalin A. When normal and cycloalkanes of one to ten carbon atoms are used as odorants at equimolar concentration, the maximum reduction in amplitude is found to correlate with the size of the stimulus molecule. This observation is consistent with the notion that concanavalin A disables an olfactory receptor molecule which normally responds to the alkyl moiety of odorants in a particular size range. That moiety may thus represent a ‘primary’ quality-determining component in odour discrimination.

scholarly journals Molecular Modelling of Oligomeric States of DmOR83b, an Olfactory Receptor in D. Melanogaster

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. BBI.S8990 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Harini ◽  
R. Sowdhamini
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Olfactory Receptors ◽  
Insect Species ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Receptor Neurons ◽  
Medical Importance ◽  
G Protein Coupled ◽  
Made In

After the discovery of the complete repertoire of D. melanogaster Olfactory Receptors (ORs), candidate ORs have been identified from at least 12 insect species from four orders (Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera), including species of economic or medical importance. Although all ORs share the same G-protein coupled receptor structure with seven transmembrane domains, they share poor sequence identity within and between species, and have been identified mainly through genomic data analyses. To date, D. melanogaster remains the only insect species where ORs have been extensively studied, from expression pattern establishment to functional investigations. These studies have confirmed several observations made in vertebrates: one OR type is selectively expressed in a subtype of olfactory receptor neurons, and one olfactory neuron expresses only one type of OR. The olfactory mechanism, further, appears to be conserved between insects and vertebrates. Understanding the function of insect ORs will greatly contribute to the understanding of insect chemical communication mechanisms, particularly with agricultural pests and disease vectors, and could result in future strategies to reduce their negative effects. In this study, we propose molecular models for insect olfactory receptor co-receptor OR83b and its possible functional oligomeric states. The functional similarity of OR83b to GPCRs and ion channels has been exploited for understanding the structure of OR83b. We could observe that C-terminal region (TM4-7) of OR83b is involved in homodimer amd heterodimer formation (with OR22a) which suggests why C-terminus of insect ORs are highly conserved across different species. We also propose two possible ion channel pathways in OR83b: one formed by TM4-5 region with intracellular pore-forming domain and the other formed by TM5-6 with extracellular pore forming domain using analysis of the electrostatics distribution of the pore forming domain.

scholarly journals Organization and distribution of glomeruli in the bowhead whale olfactory bulb

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takushi Kishida ◽  
J. G. M. Thewissen ◽  
Sharon Usip ◽  
John C George ◽  
Robert S Suydam
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory Bulb ◽  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Olfactory Receptors ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Dorsal Side ◽  
Bowhead Whale ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Marker Genes ◽  
Baleen Whales ◽  
Olfactory Receptor Genes

Although modern baleen whales still possess a functional olfactory systems that includes olfactory bulbs, cranial nerve I and olfactory receptor genes, their olfactory capabilities have been reduced profoundly. This is probably in response to their fully aquatic lifestyle. The glomeruli that occur in the olfactory bulb can be divided into two non-overlapping domains, a dorsal domain and a ventral domain. Recent molecular studies revealed that all modern whales have lost olfactory receptor genes and marker genes that are specific to the dorsal domain, and that a modern baleen whale possess only 60 olfactory receptor genes. Here we show that olfactory bulb of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus, Mysticeti) lacks glomeruli on the dorsal side, consistent with the molecular data. In addition, we estimate that there are more than 4,000 glomeruli in the bowhead whale olfactory bulb. Olfactory sensory neurons that express the same olfactory receptor in mice generally project to two specific glomeruli in an olfactory bulb, meaning that ratio of the number of olfactory receptors : the number of glomeruli is approximately 1:2. However, we show here that this ratio is not applicable to whales, indicating the limitation of mice as model organisms for understanding the initial coding of odor information among mammals.

Spatially Organized Response Zones in Rat Olfactory Epithelium

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 1950-1962 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Scott ◽  
Donna E. Shannon ◽  
Jeff Charpentier ◽  
Lisa M. Davis ◽  
Craig Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Functional Groups ◽  
Olfactory Epithelium ◽  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Receptor Gene ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Receptor Expression ◽  
Response Distribution ◽  
Chemical Structures ◽  
Four Electrodes

Scott, John W., Donna E. Shannon, Jeff Charpentier, Lisa M. Davis, and Craig Kaplan. Spatially organized response zones in rat olfactory epithelium. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 1950–1962, 1997. Electroolfactogram recordings were made with a four-electrode assembly from the olfactory epithelium overlying the endoturbinate bones facing the nasal septum. In this study we tested whether odors of different chemical structures produce maximal responses along longitudinally oriented regions following the olfactory receptor gene expression zones described in the literature. The distribution of responses along the dorsal-to-ventral direction of this epithelium (i.e., across the expression zones) was tested in two types of experiments. In one, four electrodes were fixed along the dorsal-to-ventral axis of one turbinate bone. In the other, four electrodes were placed in corresponding positions on four turbinate bones and moved together up toward the top of the bone. These experiments compared the odorants limonene and α-terpinene, which are simple hydrocarbons, with carvone and menthone, which differ from the hydrocarbons by the presence of ketone groups. All responses were standardized to an amyl acetate or ethyl butyrate standard. The responses to limonene and α-terpinene were often larger for the ventral electrodes. The responses to carvone and menthone were largest for the dorsal electrodes. Intermediate electrodes gave responses that were intermediate in amplitude for these odors. The possibility that direction of air flow caused the observed response distributions was directly tested in experiments with odor nozzles placed in two positions. The relatively larger dorsal responses to carvone and relatively larger ventral responses to limonene were present despite odor nozzle position. We conclude that the responses to this set of odors vary systematically in a fashion parallel to the four gene expression zones. The odorant property that governs this response distribution may be related to the presence of oxygen-containing functional groups. Certain odors evoked larger responses at the intermediate electrode sites than at other sites. Cineole was the best example of this effect. This observation shows that not all oxygen-containing functional groups produce the same effect. Although we cannot exclude other possible mechanisms, these three response gradients may be produced by the four receptor expression zones described for many of the putative olfactory receptor genes. Therefore many of the receptors in each zone may share common properties. It remains to be determined whether this zonal input is significant in central odor processing. However, the correlation of odor chemical properties with the structure of receptor molecules in each zone may provide significant leads to structure-function relationships in vertebrate olfaction.

scholarly journals Olfactory receptors are displayed on dog mature sperm cells.

1993 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 1441-1452 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Vanderhaeghen ◽  
S Schurmans ◽  
G Vassart ◽  
M Parmentier
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Receptor Gene ◽  
Olfactory Receptors ◽  
Olfactory Mucosa ◽  
Mature Sperm ◽  
Sperm Cells ◽  
Olfactory Receptor Gene ◽  
Mammalian Sperm ◽  
Expression Site

Olfactory receptors constitute a huge family of structurally related G protein-coupled receptors, with up to a thousand members expected. We have shown previously that genes belonging to this family were expressed in the male germ line from both dog and human. The functional significance of this unexpected site of expression was further investigated in the present study. We demonstrate that a few dog genes representative of various subfamilies of olfactory receptors are expressed essentially in testis, with little or no expression in olfactory mucosa. Other randomly selected members of the family show the expected site of expression, restricted to the olfactory system. Antibodies were generated against the deduced amino acid sequence of the most abundantly expressed olfactory receptor gene in dog testis. The purified serum was able to detect the gene product (DTMT receptor) in late round and elongated spermatids, as well as in the cytoplasmic droplet that characterizes the maturation of dog sperm cells, and on the tail midpiece of mature spermatozoa. Western blotting further confirmed the presence of a 40-kD immunoreactive protein in the membrane of mature sperm cells. Altogether , these results demonstrate that the main expression site of a subset of the large olfactory receptor gene family is not olfactory mucosa but testis. This expression correlates with the presence of the corresponding protein during sperm cell maturation, and on mature sperm cells. The pattern of expression is consistent with a role as sensor for unidentified chemicals possibly involved in the control of mammalian sperm maturation, migration, and/or fertilization.

scholarly journals Electrophysiological evidence for acidic, basic, and neutral amino acid olfactory receptor sites in the catfish.

1984 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Caprio ◽  
R P Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Ictalurus Punctatus ◽  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Olfactory Receptors ◽  
Receptor Potential ◽  
Side Chains ◽  
Short Side ◽  
Neutral Amino Acids ◽  
Receptor Sites

Electrophysiological experiments indicate that olfactory receptors of the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, contain different receptor sites for the acidic (A), basic (B), and neutral amino acids; further, at least two partially interacting neutral sites exist, one for the hydrophilic neutral amino acids containing short side chains (SCN), and the second for the hydrophobic amino acids containing long side chains (LCN). The extent of cross-adaptation was determined by comparing the electro-olfactogram (EOG) responses to 20 "test" amino acids during continuous bathing of the olfactory mucosa with water only (control) to those during each of the eight "adapting" amino acid regimes. Both the adapting and test amino acids were adjusted in concentrations to provide approximately equal response magnitudes in the unadapted state. Under all eight adapting regimes, the test EOG responses were reduced from those obtained in the unadapted state, but substantial quantitative differences resulted, depending upon the molecular structure of the adapting stimulus. Analyses of the patterns of EOG responses to the test stimuli identified and characterized the respective "transduction processes," a term used to describe membrane events initiated by a particular subset of amino acid stimuli that are intricately linked to the origin of the olfactory receptor potential. Only when the stimulus compounds interact with different transduction processes are the stimuli assumed to bind to different membrane "sites." Four relatively independent L-alpha-amino acid transduction processes (and thus at least four binding sites) identified in this report include: (a) the A process for aspartic and glutamic acids; (b) the B process for arginine and lysine; (c) the SCN process for glycine, alanine, serine, glutamine, and possibly cysteine; (d) the LCN process for methionine, ethionine, valine, norvaline, leucine, norleucine, glutamic acid-gamma-methyl ester, histidine, phenylalanine, and also possibly cysteine. The specificities of these olfactory transduction processes in the catfish are similar to those for the biochemically determined receptor sites for amino acids in other species of fishes and to amino acid transport specificities in tissues of a variety of organisms.

Neuronal nitric oxide synthase-like immunoreactivity in olfactory epithelium throughout the life cycle of the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus L.

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 346-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong N Hua ◽  
Aliya U Zaidi ◽  
Barbara S Zielinski
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Nitric Oxide Synthase ◽  
Olfactory Epithelium ◽  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Petromyzon Marinus ◽  
Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase ◽  
Sea Lamprey ◽  
Olfactory Receptor Neurons ◽  
Receptor Neurons ◽  
Oxide Synthase

This study is the first to show that neuronal nitric oxide synthase-like immunoreactivity is located in the olfactory epithelium at all developmental stages of a vertebrate. Western immunoblotting of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus L.) olfactory mucosa with a monoclonal antibody against the NADPH-binding epitope of neuronal nitric oxide synthase showed that the molecular mass of this protein was 200 kDa. In the larval stage, neuronal nitric oxide synthase-like immunoreactivity was strongest in the basal region of the olfactory epithelium, the site of proliferating olfactory receptor neurons. This staining gradually diminished as the life cycle progressed. In the juvenile stage, the intensity of neuronal nitric oxide synthase-like immunoreactivity was striking in the wide cell bodies and dendrites on olfactory receptor neurons. These results confirm previous evidence that nitric oxide modulates development in the olfactory epithelium.

scholarly journals The effect of concanavalin A on the rat electro-olfactogram at various odorant concentrations

1987 ◽  
Vol 245 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
S G Shirley ◽  
E H Polak ◽  
D A Edwards ◽  
M A Wood ◽  
G H Dodd
Keyword(s):  
Concentration Dependence ◽  
Concanavalin A ◽  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Dissociation Constants ◽  
Con A ◽  
Odour Concentration ◽  
High Concentrations

We have studied the effect of concanavalin A (Con A) on the rat electro-olfactogram response to several odorants. Each odorant was applied over a range of concentrations. For hydrophobic odorants whose response was affected by Con A, the diminution in response was maximal at odorant concentrations of about 1 microM in the olfactory mucus. The (odour) concentration-dependence of the change is compatible with the idea that Con A inactivates one or more types of olfactory receptor that normally bind odorants with dissociation constants of the order of 100 nM. With hydrophilic odorants we had to apply concentrations very much higher than this to elicit any response from the system. At these high concentrations we could observe Con A-induced diminutions in response.

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