title: Detection of pup odors by non-canonical adult vomeronasal neurons expressing an odorant receptor gene is influenced by sex and parenting status.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Olfaction is a fundamental sense through which most animals perceive the external world. The olfactory system detects odors via specialized sensory organs such as the main olfactory epithelium and the vomeronasal organ. Sensory neurons in these organs use G-protein coupled receptors to detect chemosensory stimuli. The odorant receptor (OR) family is expressed in sensory neurons of the main olfactory epithelium, while the adult vomeronasal organ is thought to express other types of receptors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Here, we describe Olfr692, a member of the OR gene family identified by next-generation RNA sequencing, which is highly upregulated and non-canonically expressed in the vomeronasal organ. We show that neurons expressing this gene are activated by odors emanating from pups. Surprisingly, activity in Olfr692-positive cells is sexually dimorphic, being very low in females. Our results also show that juvenile odors activate a large number of Olfr692 vomeronasal neurons in virgin males, which is correlated with the display of infanticide behavior. . In contrast, activity substantially decreases in parenting males (fathers), where infanticidal aggressive behavior is not frequently observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results describe, for the first time, a sensory neural population with a specific molecular identity involved in the detection of pup odors. Moreover, it is one of the first reports of a group of sensory neurons the activity of which is sexually dimorphic and depends on social status. Our data suggest that the Olfr692 population is involved in mediating pup-oriented behaviors in mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Evolution, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Rua Monteiro Lobato, Campinas, SP, 13083-862, Brazil. t.seike@gmail.com.|Graduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, 13083-862, Brazil. t.seike@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Thiago S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Nakahara
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Evolution, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Rua Monteiro Lobato, Campinas, SP, 13083-862, Brazil. lminetec@ucsd.edu.|Current affiliation: Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive 0634, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0634, USA. lminetec@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Leonardo M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Cardozo
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK. xs1@sanger.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ximena
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ibarra-Soria
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK. andrew.bard@kcl.ac.uk.|Current affiliation: MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, Strand, London, WC2R 2LS, UK. andrew.bard@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Bard
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Evolution, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Rua Monteiro Lobato, Campinas, SP, 13083-862, Brazil. vinimcarvalho@gmail.com.|Graduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, 13083-862, Brazil. vinimcarvalho@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Vinicius M A
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Evolution, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Rua Monteiro Lobato, Campinas, SP, 13083-862, Brazil. guitziegler@gmail.com.|Graduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, 13083-862, Brazil. guitziegler@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Guilherme Z
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Trintinalia
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK. dl5@sanger.ac.uk.|Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. dl5@sanger.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Darren W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Logan
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Evolution, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Rua Monteiro Lobato, Campinas, SP, 13083-862, Brazil. papesf@unicamp.br.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Papes
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012903:Smell; D019147:Vomeronasal Organ / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018035:Receptors, Odorant; C000611518:olfactory receptor 692, mouse