Biomaterial Database

Receptor diversity and spatial patterning in the mammalian olfactory system. 1993

L B Buck

Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.

In order to gain insight into the mechanisms underlying olfactory perception in mammals, we have performed experiments to identify and characterize the basic receptive elements of the olfactory system, the odorant receptors. We have identified a novel multigene family that encodes odorant receptors on olfactory sensory neurons in the nasal cavity. The tremendous size and diversity of this family indicate that perceptual acuity in the olfactory system relies heavily on the differential binding properties of hundreds of different receptor types. In order to determine how the information supplied by such a large collection of diverse receptors might be organized, we have examined the patterns of expression of different odorant receptor genes in the olfactory epithelium. We have observed distinct topographical patterns of odorant receptor RNAs that indicate that the olfactory epithelium is divided into a series of expression zones. These zones are likely to provide for a broad organization of sensory information in the nasal cavity which is maintained in the axonal projection to the olfactory bulb.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008322	Mammals	Warm-blooded vertebrate animals belonging to the class Mammalia, including all that possess hair and suckle their young.	Mammalia,Mammal
D008969	Molecular Sequence Data	Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.	Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D005810	Multigene Family	A set of genes descended by duplication and variation from some ancestral gene. Such genes may be clustered together on the same chromosome or dispersed on different chromosomes. Examples of multigene families include those that encode the hemoglobins, immunoglobulins, histocompatibility antigens, actins, tubulins, keratins, collagens, heat shock proteins, salivary glue proteins, chorion proteins, cuticle proteins, yolk proteins, and phaseolins, as well as histones, ribosomal RNA, and transfer RNA genes. The latter three are examples of reiterated genes, where hundreds of identical genes are present in a tandem array. (King & Stanfield, A Dictionary of Genetics, 4th ed)	Gene Clusters,Genes, Reiterated,Cluster, Gene,Clusters, Gene,Families, Multigene,Family, Multigene,Gene Cluster,Gene, Reiterated,Multigene Families,Reiterated Gene,Reiterated Genes
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000595	Amino Acid Sequence	The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.	Protein Structure, Primary,Amino Acid Sequences,Sequence, Amino Acid,Sequences, Amino Acid,Primary Protein Structure,Primary Protein Structures,Protein Structures, Primary,Structure, Primary Protein,Structures, Primary Protein
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D015870	Gene Expression	The phenotypic manifestation of a gene or genes by the processes of GENETIC TRANSCRIPTION and GENETIC TRANSLATION.	Expression, Gene,Expressions, Gene,Gene Expressions
D018034	Olfactory Receptor Neurons	Neurons in the OLFACTORY EPITHELIUM with proteins (RECEPTORS, ODORANT) that bind, and thus detect, odorants. These neurons send their DENDRITES to the surface of the epithelium with the odorant receptors residing in the apical non-motile cilia. Their unmyelinated AXONS synapse in the OLFACTORY BULB of the BRAIN.	Neurons, Olfactory Receptor,Olfactory Receptor Cells,Olfactory Receptor Neuron,Olfactory Sensory Cells,Olfactory Sensory Cilia,Olfactory Sensory Neurons,Cell, Olfactory Receptor,Cell, Olfactory Sensory,Cells, Olfactory Receptor,Cells, Olfactory Sensory,Cilia, Olfactory Sensory,Cilias, Olfactory Sensory,Neuron, Olfactory Receptor,Neuron, Olfactory Sensory,Neurons, Olfactory Sensory,Olfactory Receptor Cell,Olfactory Sensory Cell,Olfactory Sensory Cilias,Olfactory Sensory Neuron,Receptor Cell, Olfactory,Receptor Cells, Olfactory,Receptor Neuron, Olfactory,Receptor Neurons, Olfactory,Sensory Cell, Olfactory,Sensory Cells, Olfactory,Sensory Cilia, Olfactory,Sensory Cilias, Olfactory,Sensory Neuron, Olfactory,Sensory Neurons, Olfactory
D018035	Receptors, Odorant	Proteins, usually projecting from the cilia of olfactory receptor neurons, that specifically bind odorant molecules and trigger responses in the neurons. The large number of different odorant receptors appears to arise from several gene families or subfamilies rather than from DNA rearrangement.	Odorant Receptors,Olfactory Receptor Proteins,Odor Receptor Protein,Odorant Receptor,Olfactory Receptor,Olfactory Receptor Protein,Olfactory Receptors,Receptor Proteins, Odorant,Receptor Proteins, Olfactory,Odorant Receptor Proteins,Protein, Odor Receptor,Protein, Olfactory Receptor,Proteins, Odorant Receptor,Proteins, Olfactory Receptor,Receptor Protein, Odor,Receptor Protein, Olfactory,Receptor, Odorant,Receptor, Olfactory,Receptors, Olfactory