title: Different expression domains for two closely related amphibian TAARs generate a bimodal distribution similar to neuronal responses to amine odors.
abstract: Olfactory perception is mediated by a multitude of olfactory receptors, whose expression in the sensory surface, the olfactory epithelium, is spatially regulated. A common theme is the segregation of different olfactory receptors in different expression domains, which in turn leads to corresponding segregation in the neuronal responses to different odor groups. The amphibian olfactory receptor gene family of trace amine associated receptors, in short TAARs, is exceedingly small and allows a comprehensive analysis of spatial expression patterns, as well as a comparison with neuronal responses to the expected ligands for this receptor family, amines. Here we report that TAAR4b exhibits a spatial expression pattern characteristically different in two dimensions from that of TAAR4a, its close homolog. Together, these two genes result in a bimodal distribution resembling that of amine responses as visualized by calcium imaging. A stringent quantitative analysis suggests the involvement of additional olfactory receptors in amphibian responses to amine odors.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Adnan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Syed
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurophysiology and Cellular Biophysics, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.|Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CNMPB), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sansone
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Röner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Shahrzad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bozorg Nia
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurophysiology and Cellular Biophysics, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.|Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CNMPB), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Manzini
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Sigrun I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Korsching
mesh_terms: D000588:Amines; D000663:Amphibians; D000818:Animals; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D009812:Odorants; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D054730:Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs / Q000235:genetics*; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics; D014981:Xenopus
chemical_list: D000588:Amines; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D018035:Receptors, Odorant