Odorant receptors (ORs) form one of the largest gene families in the genome. However, the vast majority are orphan receptors as the ligands that activate them remain unknown. Deorphaning approaches have generally focused on finding ligands for particular receptors expressed in homologous or heterologous cells; these attempts have met with only partial success. Here, we outline a conceptually di...

Fruit flies are attracted by a diversity of odors that signal the presence of food, potential mates, or attractive egg-laying sites. Most Drosophila olfactory neurons express two types of odorant receptor genes: Or83b, a broadly expressed receptor of unknown function, and one or more members of a family of 61 selectively expressed receptors. While the conventional odorant receptors are highly d...

In the fruit fly Drosophila, not all olfactory sensory neurons express a seven transmembrane odorant receptor, suggesting that other types of odorant receptors might exist. Benton et al. (2009) now present evidence that a family of proteins related to ionotropic glutamate receptors is a previously unrecognized class of odorant receptors.

In mammals, smell is mediated by odorant receptors expressed by sensory neurons in the nose. These specialized receptors are found both on olfactory sensory neurons' cilia and axon terminals. Although the primary function of ciliary odorant receptors is to detect odorants, their axonal role remains unclear but is thought to involve axon guidance. This review discusses findings that show axonal ...

the sense of olfaction reached its zenith in development much earlier than other special senses. olfaction is much more acute than the other senses, exhibits both high sensitivity for odours and high discrimination between them. this plays a very important role even in the social and behavioral aspects of human beings. recent studies using molecular genetics, electrophysiology and behavioral an...

As one of the most notorious ectoparasites, bed bugs rely heavily on human or animal blood sources for survival, mating and reproduction. Chemoreception, mediated by the odorant receptors on the membrane of olfactory sensory neurons, plays a vital role in their host seeking and risk aversion processes. We investigated the responses of odorant receptors to a large spectrum of semiochemicals, inc...

Phylogenetic analysis groups mammalian odorant receptors into two broad classes and numerous subfamilies. These subfamilies are proposed to reflect functional organization. Testing this idea requires an assay allowing detailed functional characterization of odorant receptors. Here we show that a variety of Class I and Class II mouse odorant receptors can be functionally expressed in Xenopus lae...

Since the emergence of the first living cells, survival has hinged on the ability to detect and localize chemicals in the environment. Modern animal species ranging from insects to mammals express large odorant receptor repertoires to detect the structurally diverse array of volatile molecules important for survival. Despite the essential nature of chemical detection, there is surprising divers...