Advantage of the Highly Restricted Odorant Receptor Expression Pattern in Chemosensory Neurons of Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: A fundamental molecular feature of olfactory systems is that individual neurons express only one receptor from a large odorant receptor gene family. While numerous theories have been proposed, the functional significance and evolutionary advantage of generating a sophisticated one-receptor-per neuron expression pattern is not well understood. Using the genetically tractable Drosophila melanogaster as a model, we demonstrate that the breakdown of this highly restricted expression pattern of an odorant receptor in neurons leads to a deficit in the ability to exploit new food sources. We show that animals with ectopic co-expression of odorant receptors also have a competitive disadvantage in a complex environment with limiting food sources. At the level of the olfactory system, we find change

SUBMITTER: Tharadra SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3686798 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature