EXPRESSION OF CANDIDATE PHEROMONE RECEPTOR GENES IN VOMERONASAL NEURONS

In mammals, olfactory sensory perception is mediated by two anatomical ly and functionally distinct organs: the main olfactory epithelium (MO E) and the vomeronasal organ (VON). Pheromones activate the VNO and el icit a characteristic array of innate reproductive and social behavior s, along with dramatic neuroendocrine responses. Recent approaches hav e provided new insights into the molecular biology of sensory transduc tion in the VNO. Differential screening of cDNA libraries constructed from single sensory neurons from the rat VNO has led to the isolation of a family of genes which are likely to encode mammalian pheromone re ceptors. The isolation of these receptors from the VNO might permit th e analysis of the molecular events which translate the bindings of phe romones into innate stereotypic behaviors and help to elucidate the lo gic of pheromone perception in mammals.