Localized Expression of Olfactory Receptor Genes in the Olfactory Organ of Common Minke Whales.

ABSTRACT: Baleen whales (Mysticeti) possess the necessary anatomical structures and genetic elements for olfaction. Nevertheless, the olfactory receptor gene (OR) repertoire has undergone substantial degeneration in the cetacean lineage following the divergence of the Artiodactyla and Cetacea. The functionality of highly degenerated mysticete ORs within their olfactory epithelium remains unknown. In this study, we extracted total RNA from the nasal mucosae of common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) to investigate ORs' localized expression. All three sections of the mucosae examined in the nasal chamber displayed comparable histological structure. However, the posterior portion of the frontoturbinal region exhibited notably high OR expression. Neithe

SUBMITTER: Hirose A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11012115 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature