Mice with a "monoclonal nose": perturbations in an olfactory map impair odor discrimination.
We have altered the neural representation of odors in the brain by generating a mouse with a "monoclonal nose" in which greater than 95% of the sensory neurons express a single odorant receptor, M71. As a consequence, the frequency of sensory neurons expressing endogenous receptor genes is reduced 20-fold. We observe that these mice can smell, but odor discrimination and performance in associative olfactory learning tasks are impaired. However, these mice cannot detect the M71 ligand acetophenone despite the observation that virtually all sensory neurons and glomeruli are activated by this odor. The M71 transgenic mice readily detect other odors in the presence of acetophenone. These observations have implications for how receptor activation in the periphery is represented in the brain and how these representations encode odors.
Fleischmann
Alexander
A
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Shykind
Benjamin M
BM
Sosulski
Dara L
DL
Franks
Kevin M
KM
Glinka
Meredith E
ME
Mei
Dan Feng
DF
Sun
Yonghua
Y
Kirkland
Jennifer
J
Mendelsohn
Monica
M
Albers
Mark W
MW
Axel
Richard
R
D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009666:Nose / Q000502:physiology*; D009812:Odorants; D000857:Olfaction Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology
C502656:Olfr151 protein, mouse; D018035:Receptors, Odorant