Ancestral amphibian v2rs are expressed in the main olfactory epithelium.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian olfactory receptor families are segregated into different olfactory organs, with type 2 vomeronasal receptor (v2r) genes expressed in a basal layer of the vomeronasal epithelium. In contrast, teleost fish v2r genes are intermingled with all other olfactory receptor genes in a single sensory surface. We report here that, strikingly different from both lineages, the v2r gene family of the amphibian Xenopus laevis is expressed in the main olfactory as well as the vomeronasal epithelium. Interestingly, late diverging v2r genes are expressed exclusively in the vomeronasal epithelium, whereas "ancestral" v2r genes, including the single member of v2r family C, are restricted to the main olfactory epithelium. Moreover, within the main olfactory epithelium, v2r genes are expressed in a ba

SUBMITTER: Syed AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3651509 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature