Science imitates art: the cloning of mice from olfactory sensory neurons.
The functional identity of an olfactory sensory neuron is defined by its expression of one odorant receptor from a large multigene family. The complexity of this process has led to speculation that DNA rearrangements are used to limit the expression of one receptor gene per cell. However, a recent report in Nature directly rules out irreversible DNA rearrangements as a mechanism for odorant receptor gene choice.
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
John
J
Ngai
D000818:Animals; D019976:Cloning, Organism / Q000379:methods; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D051379:Mice; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics*
D018035:Receptors, Odorant; D004247:DNA