Ancient and Nonuniform Loss of Olfactory Receptor Expression Renders the Shark Nose a De Facto Vomeronasal Organ.

ABSTRACT: Cartilaginous fishes are renowned for a keen sense of smell, a reputation based on behavioral observations and supported by the presence of large and morphologically complex olfactory organs. At the molecular level, genes belonging to the four families coding for most olfactory chemosensory receptors in other vertebrates have been identified in a chimera and a shark, but it was unknown whether they actually code for olfactory receptors in these species. Here, we describe the evolutionary dynamics of these gene families in cartilaginous fishes using genomes of a chimera, a skate, a sawfish, and eight sharks. The number of putative OR, TAAR, and V1R/ORA receptors is very low and stable, whereas the number of putative V2R/OlfC receptors is higher and much more dynamic. In the catshark Scylior

SUBMITTER: Syed AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10116579 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature