The odor specificities of a subset of olfactory receptor neurons are governed by Acj6, a POU-domain transcription factor

Peter J. Clyne, Sarah J. Certel, Marien De Bruyne, Lina Zaslavsky, Wayne A. Johnson, John R. Carlson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

139 Scopus citations

Abstract

Little is known about how the odor specificities of olfactory neurons are generated, a process essential to olfactory coding. We have found that neuronal identity relies on the abnormal chemosensory jump 6 (acj6) gene, originally identified by a defect in olfactory behavior. Physiological analysis of individual olfactory neurons shows that in acj6 mutants, a subset of neurons acquires a different odorant response profile. Certain other neurons do not respond to any tested odors in acj6. Molecular analysis of acj6 shows that it encodes a POU-domain transcription factor expressed in olfactory neurons. Our data suggest that the odor response spectrum of an olfactory neuron, and perhaps the choice of receptor genes, is determined through a process requiring the action of Acj6.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)339-347
Number of pages9
JournalNeuron
Volume22
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1999

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