Odorant receptors govern the formation of a precise topographic map.

Olfactory neurons expressing a given odorant receptor project with precision to 2 of the 1800 glomeruli within the olfactory bulb to create a topographic map of odor quality. We demonstrate that deletions or nonsense mutations in the P2 odorant receptor gene cause the axons of these cells to wander rather than converge on a specific glomerulus. Receptor substitution experiments that replace the P2 gene with the coding region of the P3 gene result in the projection of P3-->P2 axons to a glomerulus touching the wild-type P3 glomerulus. These data, along with additional receptor substitutions, indicate that the odorant receptor plays an instructive role in the establishment of the topographic map.

Duke Scholars

Author Fan Wang Neurobiology