Spatial segregation of odorant receptor expression in the mammalian olfactory epithelium

Robert Vassar*, John Ngai, Richard Axel

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

752 Scopus citations

Abstract

The signal elicited by the interaction of odorous ligands with receptors on olfactory sensory neurons must be decoded by the brain to determine which of the numerous receptors have been activated. We have examined the patterns of odorant receptor expression in the rat olfactory epithelium to determine whether the mammalian olfactory system employs spatial segregation of sensory input to encode the identity of an odorant stimulus. In situ hybridization experiments with probes for 11 different odorant receptors demonstrate that sensory neurons expressing distinct receptors are topologically segregated into a small number of broad, yet circumscribed, zones within the olfactory epithelium. Within a given zone, however, olfactory neurons expressing a specific receptor appear to be randomly distributed, rather than spatially localized. The complex mammalian olfactory system may therefore compartmentalize the epithelium into anatomically and functionally discrete units, such that each zone expresses only a subset of the entire receptor repertoire.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)309-318
Number of pages10
JournalCell
Volume74
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 30 1993

Funding

We thank R. Sitcheran and L. Schatten for expert technical assistance, Ira Schieren for computer imaging, L. Buck for J2, J7, and J14 receptor clones, and P. J. Kisloff for assistance in preparing the manuscript. We also thank Dr. T. M. Jesaell for suggestions and Drs. A. Chess, C. Dulac, and T. M. Jessell for critically reading the manuscript. This work was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and by the National Institutes of Health (ROl-20338). R. V. is also a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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