scholarly journals The olfactory system of the tammar wallaby is developed at birth and directs the neonate to its mother's pouch odours

Reproduction ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 138 (5) ◽  
pp. 849-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanette Y Schneider ◽  
Terrence P Fletcher ◽  
Geoff Shaw ◽  
Marilyn B Renfree
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory System ◽  
Vomeronasal Organ ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Main Olfactory Bulb ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
Main Olfactory Epithelium ◽  
Receptor Cells ◽  
Olfactory Systems ◽  
Main Olfactory System ◽  
Pouch Secretions

In kangaroos and wallabies at birth the highly altricial newborn young climbs unassisted from the urogenital opening to the teat. Negative geotropism is important for the initial climb to the pouch opening, but nothing is known of the signals that then direct the neonate downwards to the teat. Here we show that the newborn tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) has the olfactory apparatus to detect smell. Both the main olfactory system and vomeronasal organ (VNO) are developed at the time of birth. Receptor cells of the main olfactory epithelium immunopositive for Goα-protein project to the three layered main olfactory bulb (MOB). The receptor epithelium of the VNO contains G-protein immunopositive cells and has olfactory knob-like structures. The VNO is connected to an area between the two MOBs. Next, using a functional test, we show that neonates can respond to odours from their mother's pouch. When neonatal young are presented with a choice of a pouch-odour-soaked swab or a saline swab, they choose the swab with their mother's pouch secretions significantly more often (P<0.05) than the saline swab. We conclude that both olfactory systems are capable of receiving odour signals at birth, a function that must be a critical adaptation for the survival of an altricial marsupial neonate such as the tammar for its journey to the pouch.

Localization of α1-2 Fucose Glycan in the Mouse Olfactory Pathway

2016 ◽  
Vol 203 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Kondoh ◽  
Akihiro Kamikawa ◽  
Motoki Sasaki ◽  
Nobuo Kitamura
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory Bulb ◽  
Olfactory System ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Basal Region ◽  
Main Olfactory Bulb ◽  
Olfactory Pathway ◽  
Ulex Europaeus ◽  
Receptor Cells ◽  
Ulex Europaeus Agglutinin I ◽  
Local Circuits

Glycoconjugates in the olfactory system play critical roles in neuronal formation, and α1-2 fucose (α1-2Fuc) glycan mediates neurite outgrowth and synaptic plasticity. Histochemical findings of α1-2Fuc glycan in the mouse olfactory system detected using Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I) vary. This study histochemically assessed the main olfactory and vomeronasal pathways in male and female ICR and C57BL/6J mice aged 3-4 months using UEA-I. Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I reacted with most receptor cells arranged mainly at the basal region of the olfactory epithelium. The olfactory nerve layer and glomerular layer of the main olfactory bulb were speckled with positive UEA-I staining, and positive fibers were scattered from the glomerular to the internal plexiform layer. The lateral olfactory tract and rostral migratory stream were also positive for UEA-I. We identified superficial short-axon cells, interneurons of the external plexiform layer, external, middle and internal tufted cells, mitral cells and granule cells as the origins of the UEA-I-positive fibers in the main olfactory bulb. The anterior olfactory nucleus, anterior piriform cortex and olfactory tubercle were negative for UEA-I. Most receptor cells in the vomeronasal epithelium and most glomeruli of the accessory olfactory bulb were positive for UEA-I. Our findings indicated that α1-2Fuc glycan is located within the primary and secondary, but not the ternary, pathways of the main olfactory system, in local circuits of the main olfactory bulb and within the primary, but not secondary, pathway of the vomeronasal system.

scholarly journals Strong links between genomic and anatomical diversity in both mammalian olfactory chemosensory systems

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1783) ◽  
pp. 20132828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva C. Garrett ◽  
Michael E. Steiper
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory System ◽  
Anatomical Variation ◽  
Relative Proportion ◽  
Genomic Evolution ◽  
Vomeronasal System ◽  
Qualitative Evidence ◽  
Signature Of Selection ◽  
Olfactory Systems ◽  
Main Olfactory System ◽  
Chemosensory Systems

Mammalian olfaction comprises two chemosensory systems: the odorant-detecting main olfactory system (MOS) and the pheromone-detecting vomeronasal system (VNS). Mammals are diverse in their anatomical and genomic emphases on olfactory chemosensation, including the loss or reduction of these systems in some orders. Despite qualitative evidence linking the genomic evolution of the olfactory systems to specific functions and phenotypes, little work has quantitatively tested whether the genomic aspects of the mammalian olfactory chemosensory systems are correlated to anatomical diversity. We show that the genomic and anatomical variation in these systems is tightly linked in both the VNS and the MOS, though the signature of selection is different in each system. Specifically, the MOS appears to vary based on absolute organ and gene family size while the VNS appears to vary according to the relative proportion of functional genes and relative anatomical size and complexity. Furthermore, there is little evidence that these two systems are evolving in a linked fashion. The relationships between genomic and anatomical diversity strongly support a role for natural selection in shaping both the anatomical and genomic evolution of the olfactory chemosensory systems in mammals.

scholarly journals 50 years of decoding olfaction

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 239821281881749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A Brennan
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory Bulb ◽  
Olfactory System ◽  
Piriform Cortex ◽  
Vomeronasal System ◽  
Main Olfactory Bulb ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Fundamental Insight ◽  
Main Olfactory System ◽  
G Protein Coupled

The identification, in the late 20th century, of unexpectedly large families of G-protein-coupled chemosensory receptors revolutionised our understanding of the olfactory system. The discovery that non-selective olfactory sensory neurons express a single olfactory receptor type and project to a specific glomerulus in the main olfactory bulb provided fundamental insight into the spatial pattern of odour representation in the main olfactory bulb. Studies using head-fixed awake mice and optogenetics have revealed the importance of the timing of glomerular input in relation to the sniff cycle and the role of piriform cortex in odour object recognition. What in the 1970s had appeared to be a relatively simple dichotomy between odour detection by the main olfactory system and pheromone detection by the vomeronasal system has been found to consist of multiple subsystems. These mediate innate responses to odours and pheromones and to substances as diverse as O2, volatile urinary constituents, peptides and proteins.

Ultrastructural analysis of unique glycoconjugates in the rat olfactory system

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 890-891
Author(s):  
James E. Crandall ◽  
Linda C. Hassinger ◽  
Gerald A. Schwarting
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Monoclonal Antibodies ◽  
Olfactory System ◽  
Olfactory Bulbs ◽  
Temporal And Spatial Patterns ◽  
Carbohydrate Epitopes ◽  
Olfactory Systems ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Cell Surface Glycoconjugates

Cell surface glycoconjugates are considered to play important roles in cell-cell interactions in the developing central nervous system. We have previously described a group of monoclonal antibodies that recognize defined carbohydrate epitopes and reveal unique temporal and spatial patterns of immunoreactivity in the developing main and accessory olfactory systems in rats. Antibody CC2 reacts with complex α-galactosyl and α-fucosyl glycoproteins and glycolipids. Antibody CC1 reacts with terminal N-acetyl galactosamine residues of globoside-like glycolipids. Antibody 1B2 reacts with β-galactosyl glycolipids and glycoproteins. Our light microscopic data suggest that these antigens may be located on the surfaces of axons of the vomeronasal and olfactory nerves as well as on some of their target neurons in the main and accessory olfactory bulbs.

scholarly journals Extinction reverses olfactory fear-conditioned increases in neuron number and glomerular size

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (41) ◽  
pp. 12846-12851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filomene G. Morrison ◽  
Brian G. Dias ◽  
Kerry J. Ressler
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory Bulb ◽  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Olfactory Epithelium ◽  
Olfactory System ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Freezing Behavior ◽  
Extinction Training ◽  
Odor Stimulus ◽  
Main Olfactory Epithelium ◽  
Odor Learning

Although much work has investigated the contribution of brain regions such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex to the processing of fear learning and memory, fewer studies have examined the role of sensory systems, in particular the olfactory system, in the detection and perception of cues involved in learning and memory. The primary sensory receptive field maps of the olfactory system are exquisitely organized and respond dynamically to cues in the environment, remaining plastic from development through adulthood. We have previously demonstrated that olfactory fear conditioning leads to increased odorant-specific receptor representation in the main olfactory epithelium and in glomeruli within the olfactory bulb. We now demonstrate that olfactory extinction training specific to the conditioned odor stimulus reverses the conditioning-associated freezing behavior and odor learning-induced structural changes in the olfactory epithelium and olfactory bulb in an odorant ligand-specific manner. These data suggest that learning-induced freezing behavior, structural alterations, and enhanced neural sensory representation can be reversed in adult mice following extinction training.

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