Scientists Discover Genetic Controls For Olfactory Neuron Development In Fruit Fly
May 28th, 2008 | by admin |Despite the identical genetic makeup of the neurons associated withsmell in the fruit fly, scientists are one step closer to understandinghow certain neurons perceive specific smells, according to an articlereleased on May 27, 2008 in the open access journal PLoSGenetics.
Embryonic development begins with a single cell, containing the geneticinformation to create all parts of the organism that is developing. Asthis cell divides, it provides this full compliment of genes to eachsubsequent daughter cell, which in turn has the potential to become anyof the cells found in the organism in a property known as totipotency.Much has yet to be learned about how and why these cells differentiate,on both a large scale and a small scale, and understanding theseregulatory processes is the genetic foundation of developmentalbiology.
In the fruit fly, of the genus Drosophila, twoorgans are related to the sense of smell: the antennae extending fromthe head and the maxillary palps in the mouth. In the palps, there aresix different types of neurons present to transmit information from thesensory area to the brain itself. Based on these patterns, differentreceptors will discriminate different odors. Each type has a specificand predictable pattern of olfactory receptors, but until now it hasnot been clear how the neurons were instructed to develop in thesedifferent but highly predictable ways.?
To investigate this question, Anandasankar Ray and colleagues at YaleUniversity compared the recently published genetic sequences of all 12typically studied species of Drosophila. In doingthis, they identified regions of the DNA upstream from and near thegenes for the receptors themselves that are nearly identical across thespecies. Hypothesizing that these were control regions, which willinfluence when and how the genes will develop, the team geneticallyaltered certain control regions experimentally, showing that thesegenes were indeed necessary for the control of this part ofdevelopment. Some regions regulate the receptor expression positively,so that if they are not present, the necessary proteins do not appear.Others regulate it negatively, so when they are missing the receptorswill appear, even in the wrong neurons.
Notably, these regulatory sequences may have other roles in the nervoussystem — they may also potentially act in the process of connectingneurons to other neurons in the antennae, called axon guidance. Thissuggests that these genes are not just necessary for the sense ofsmell, but may also be integral to Drosophila’s nervous system.
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A regulatory code for neuron-specific odor receptorexpression.
Ray A, van der Goes van Naters W, Carlson JR
PLoS Biol 6(5): e125.
doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060125
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Written by Anna Sophia McKenney
Copyright: Medical News Today
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