Combinatorial receptor codes for odors
Combinatorial receptor codes for odors
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DOI：
10.1016/s0092-8674(00)80581-4
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发表时间：
1999-03-05
期刊：
影响因子：
64.5
通讯作者：
Buck, LB
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Malnic, B;Hirono, J;Buck, LB
哺乳动物嗅觉系统的辨别能力如此之强，以至于数以千计的挥发性化学物质被认为具有不同的气味。在这里，我们使用钙成像和单细胞RT-PCR相结合的方法来识别具有相关结构但气味不同的气味的气味受体(ORs)。我们发现，一个OR识别多种气味，一种气味被多个OR识别，但不同的气味被不同的OR组合识别。因此，嗅觉系统使用组合感受器编码方案来编码气味身份。我们的研究还表明，气味的轻微变化或浓度的变化可以改变它的“代码”，这可能解释了这种变化如何改变感知到的气味质量。
The discriminatory capacity of the mammalian olfactory system is such that thousands of volatile chemicals are perceived as having distinct odors. Here we used a combination of calcium imaging and single-cell RT-PCR to identify odorant receptors (ORs) for odorants with related structures but varied odors. We found that one OR recognizes multiple odorants and that one odorant is recognized by multiple ORs, but that different odorants are recognized by different combinations of ORs. Thus, the olfactory system uses a combinatorial receptor coding scheme to encode odor identities. Our studies also indicate that slight alterations in an odorant, or a change in its concentration, can change its "code," potentially explaining how such changes can alter perceived odor quality.