fails to resolve, demonstrating that, as with the selection of other neural precursors, the resolution of amos expression involves lateral inhibition. In the antennal imagi-nal disc, amos mRNA is detected in three semicircular The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is made up of an bands that correspond to the sites where olfactory sen-array of different sensory structures that detect aspects sill...

multiple sclerosis (ms) causes loss of the myelin sheath, which leads to loss of neurons. regeneration of myelin sheath stimulates axon regeneration and neurons’ survival. in this study, olfactory ensheathing cell (oec) transplantation is investigated to restore myelin sheath in an experimental model of ms in male mice.oecs were isolated from the olfactory mucosa of seven-day-old infant rats an...

Several neurotropic viruses such as vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) induce peripheral neutralizing Ab responses and still can infect cells within the CNS. To address whether local type I IFN receptor (IFNAR) triggering plays a role in controlling virus replication within the brain, we generated mice with a cell type-specific IFNAR deletion in neuroectodermal cells of the CNS (NesCre(+/-)IFNAR(...

Mammals possess two anatomically and functionally distinct olfactory systems. The olfactory epithelium (OE) detects volatile odorants, while the vomeronasal organ (VNO) detects pheromones that elicit innate reproductive and social behavior within a species. In rodent VNO, three multigene families that encode the putative pheromone receptors, V1Rs, V2Rs and V3Rs, have been expressed. We have ide...

Sand vipers of the genus Cerastes are specialized semi-fossorial snakes that launch predatory strikes at rodents and lizards while partially buried in the soft sand of the Saharan desert. This study attempted to document which environmental stimuli are used by these snakes as a trigger for the ambush behavior. Denervating the olfactory and vomeronasal organs produced no changes in prey capture ...

To date, over 100 vomeronasal receptor type 1 (V1R) genes have been identified in rodents. V1R is specifically expressed in the rodent vomeronasal organ (VNO) and is thought to be responsible for pheromone reception. Recently, 21 putatively functional V1R genes were identified in the genome database of the amphibian Xenopus tropicalis. Amphibians are the first vertebrates to possess a VNO. In o...

Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the planet, comprising over 90% of all metazoan life forms, and have adapted to a wide diversity of ecosystems in nearly all environments. They have evolved highly sensitive chemical senses that are central to their interaction with their environment and to communication between individuals. Understanding the molecular bases of insect olfaction i...

Capture of odorant molecules by olfactory organs from the surrounding fluid is the first step of smelling. Sniffing intermittently moves fluid across sensory surfaces, increasing delivery rates of molecules to chemosensory receptors and providing discrete odour samples. Aquatic malacostracan crustaceans sniff by flicking olfactory antennules bearing arrays of chemosensory hairs (aesthetascs), c...