Electrophysiological evidence for the broad distribution of specific odorant receptor molecules across the olfactory organ of the channel catfish.

To determine if there is a spatial segregation of responsiveness to odorants within the olfactory epithelium, microelectrode recordings were obtained from small populations of olfactory receptor neurons located across different lamellar sensory regions of the olfactory organ of the channel catfish, lctalurus punctatus. Stimuli included L-alanine, L-methionine, L-arginine hydrochloride, L-glutamic acid, ATP and a mixture of bile salts-odorants previously reported to stimulate independent receptor sites in aquatic species. The peak integrated olfactory receptor responses at each recording site were standardized to the response to L-alanine. The relative stimulatory effectiveness of the stimuli was preserved across the 10 olfactory lamellae recording sites. These data support previous molecular biological results of a broad distribution of receptor neurons that express specific receptor genes across the olfactory organ of the channel catfish.