Transcriptional and post-transcriptional control of odorant receptor choice in ants.

ABSTRACT: Insects and mammals have independently evolved odorant receptor genes that are arranged in large genomic tandem arrays. In mammals, each olfactory sensory neuron chooses to express a single receptor in a stochastic process that includes substantial chromatin rearrangements. Here, we show that ants, which have the largest odorant receptor repertoires among insects, employ a different mechanism to regulate gene expression from tandem arrays. Using single-nucleus RNA sequencing, we found that ant olfactory sensory neurons choose different transcription start sites along an array but then produce mRNA from many downstream genes. This can result in transcripts from dozens of receptors being present in a single nucleus. Such rampant receptor co-expression at first seems difficult to reconcile wi

SUBMITTER: Brahma A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11025690 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature