From odor and pheromone transduction to the organization of the sense of smell

Chemosensory neurons in the mammalian nose detect an array of odors and phe romones that carry essential information about the animal's environment. Ho w the nose organizes this immense amount of information is a major question in sensory biology. New evidence suggests that there are several subpopula tions of sensory neurons in the nose that project to different areas in the forebrain. Strikingly, evidence is now emerging that several of these neur onal subpopulations employ distinct second messenger cascades to transduce chemical stimuli. This new understanding of the heterogeneity of chemosenso ry transduction mechanisms offers the opportunity to use genetically altere d animals to specifically target these subpopulations. Such approaches shou ld enable researchers to examine the role that each of these subsystems cou ld play in chemosensory-dependent behaviors.