title: An olfactory sensory map in the fly brain.
abstract: We have isolated the "complete" repertoire of genes encoding the odorant receptors in Drosophila and employ these genes to provide a molecular description of the organization of the peripheral olfactory system. The repertoire of Drosophila odorant receptors is encoded by 57 genes. Individual sensory neurons are likely to express only a single receptor gene. Neurons expressing a given gene project axons to one or two spatially invariant glomeruli in the antennal lobe. The insect brain therefore retains a two-dimensional map of receptor activation such that the quality of an odor may be encoded by different spatial patterns of activity in the antennal lobe.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, USA.
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Vosshall
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Axel
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D017344:Genes, Insect; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D018035:Receptors, Odorant