Chem. Senses 27: 277-286,
2002
© Oxford University Press 2002
Amino Acid Odorants Stimulate Microvillar Sensory Neurons
University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Physiology, Salt Lake City, UT 84108-1297, USA
Correspondence to be sent to: William C. Michel, University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Physiology, 410 Chipeta Way, Room 155, Salt Lake City, UT 84108-1297, USA. e-mail: mike.michel{at}m.cc.utah.edu
The olfactory epithelium (OE) of zebrafish is populated with ciliated and microvillar olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs). Whether distinct classes of odorants specifically activate either of these unique populations of OSNs is unknown. Previously we demonstrated that zebrafish OSNs could be labeled in an activity-dependent fashion by amino acid but not bile acid odorants. To determine which sensory neuron type was stimulated by amino acid odorants, we labeled OSNs using the ion channel permeant probe agmatine (AGB) and analyzed its distribution with conventional light- and electron-microscope immunocytochemical techniques. Approximately 7% of the sensory epithelium was labeled by AGB exposure alone. Following stimulation with one of the eight amino acids tested, the proportion of labeled epithelium increased from 9% for histidine to 19% for alanine; amino acid stimulated increases in labeling of 2-12% over control labeling. Only histidine failed to stimulate a significant increase in the proportion of labeled OSNs compared to control preparations. Most amino acid sensitive OSNs were located superficially in the epithelium and immuno-electron microscopy demonstrated that the labeled OSNs were predominately microvillar. Large numbers of nanogold particles (20-60 per 1.5 µm2) were associated with microvillar olfactory sensory neurons (MSNs), while few such particles (<15 per 1.5 µm2) were observed over ciliated olfactory sensory neurons (CSNs), supporting cells (SCs) and areas without tissue, such as the lumen above the OE. Collectively, these findings indicate that microvillar sensory neurons are capable of detecting amino acid odorants.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  T. Koide, N. Miyasaka, K. Morimoto, K. Asakawa, A. Urasaki, K. Kawakami, and Y. Yoshihara Olfactory neural circuitry for attraction to amino acids revealed by transposon-mediated gene trap approach in zebrafish PNAS, June 16, 2009; 106(24): 9884 - 9889. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. A. Nikonov and J. Caprio Highly Specific Olfactory Receptor Neurons for Types of Amino Acids in the Channel Catfish J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2007; 98(4): 1909 - 1918. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Y. Sato, N. Miyasaka, and Y. Yoshihara Mutually Exclusive Glomerular Innervation by Two Distinct Types of Olfactory Sensory Neurons Revealed in Transgenic Zebrafish J. Neurosci., May 18, 2005; 25(20): 4889 - 4897. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. M. Lindsay and R. G. Vogt Behavioral Responses of Newly Hatched Zebrafish (Danio rerio) to Amino Acid Chemostimulants Chem Senses, February 1, 2004; 29(2): 93 - 100. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. Manzini and D. Schild cAMP-independent olfactory transduction of amino acids in Xenopus laevis tadpoles J. Physiol., August 15, 2003; 551(1): 115 - 123. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 W. C. Michel, M. J. Sanderson, J. K. Olson, and D. L. Lipschitz Evidence of a novel transduction pathway mediating detection of polyamines by the zebrafish olfactory system J. Exp. Biol., May 15, 2003; 206(10): 1697 - 1706. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. H. Hamdani and K. B. Doving Sensitivity and Selectivity of Neurons in the Medial Region of the Olfactory Bulb to Skin Extract from Conspecifics in Crucian Carp, Carassius carassius Chem Senses, March 1, 2003; 28(3): 181 - 189. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|