Olfactory receptor repertoire size in dinosaurs.

ABSTRACT: The olfactory bulb (OB) ratio is the size of the OB relative to the cerebral hemisphere, and is used to estimate the proportion of the forebrain devoted to smell. In birds, OB ratio correlates with the number of olfactory receptor (OR) genes and therefore has been used as a proxy for olfactory acuity. By coupling OB ratios with known OR gene repertoires in birds, we infer minimum repertoire sizes for extinct taxa, including non-avian dinosaurs, using phylogenetic modelling, ancestral state reconstruction and comparative genomics. We highlight a shift in the scaling of OB ratio to body size along the lineage leading to modern birds, demonstrating variable OR repertoires present in different dinosaur and crown-bird lineages, with varying factors potentially influencing sensory evolution in t

SUBMITTER: Hughes GM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6571463 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature