TOPOGRAPHIC PATTERNS OF ODORANT RECEPTOR EXPRESSION IN MAMMALS - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY

In a comparative study, molecular probes for various odorant receptor subtypes were employed in in situ hybridization experiments on tissue sections through the nose from different mammalian species. OR37 react ive neurons were found exclusively in the rodent species, where they w ere clustered in very similar position within the nasal cavities; an O R37-related receptor subtype was not detectable in the rabbit. All oth er subtypes tested, hybridized across species borders to neurons that were distributed within distinct zones of the olfactory epithelium. Mo st receptor types were found in the same zone in all species; however, a few subtypes which are expressed in the medial zone in rat were fou nd in the dorsal zone in guinea pig.