Most animal species rely on odorant compounds to locate food, predators, or toxins. The sense of smell is also involved in animal communication, and revealing the underlying mechanisms will therefore facilitate a deeper understanding of animal behaviour. Since the 1940s different theories have speculated on the fundamental basis of olfaction. It was assumed that odorant molecules were recognized by selective protein receptors in the nose, triggering a nervous signal processed by the brain. The discovery of these receptors in the early 1990s allowed great progress in understanding the physiological and biochemical principles of olfaction. An overview of the different mechanisms involved in the coding of odour character as well as odour intensity is presented here, focusing on the biochemical basis of odorant recognition. Despite the enormous progress achieved in recent years, details of odorant-receptor interaction at the molecular level and the mechanisms of olfactory receptor activation are poorly understood. The likely role of metal ions in odorant recognition is discussed, and also the perireceptor events involved in odorant transport and biotransformation, with a view to providing a comprehensive overview of mammalian olfaction to guide future computational structural models and the design of functional experiments. Recent studies have analysed the olfactory genome of several species, providing information about the evolution of olfaction. The role of the olfactory system in animal communication is also described.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2007.00019.x | DOI Listing |
J Chem Ecol
January 2025
Department Plant Protection Biology, SLU Alnarp, Lomma, Sweden.
The great diversity of specialist plant-feeding insects suggests that host plant shifts may initiate speciation, even without geographic barriers. Pheromones and kairomones mediate sexual communication and host choice, and the response to these behaviour-modifying chemicals is under sexual and natural selection, respectively. The concept that the interaction of mate signals and habitat cues facilitates reproductive isolation and ecological speciation is well established, while the traits and the underlying sensory mechanisms remain unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSensors (Basel)
January 2025
School of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Jilin Engineering Normal University, Changchun 130052, China.
The rapid detection of petroleum hydrocarbons and organic pesticides is an important prerequisite for precise soil management. It is also a guarantee for soil quality, environmental safety, and human health. However, the current rapid detection methods are prone to sample matrix interference, complex development processes, short lifespan, and low detection accuracy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsects
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Insects have highly developed olfactory systems in which cytochrome P450s (CYPs) were involved as odor-degrading enzymes throughout the olfactory recognition of odor compounds by insects to avoid continuous stimulation of signaling molecules and thus damage to the olfactory nervous. To understand whether the highly expressed CYPs in the antennae play an olfactory function in worker, in this study, we find six highly expressed antennal CYPs from the transcriptome of . Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis divided them into two families: the CYP3 family (, ) and the CYP4 family (, , , ).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsects
December 2024
School of Food and Strategic Reserves, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
The olfactory sensory system plays vital roles in daily activities, such as locating mate partners, foraging, and risk avoidance. Natural enemies can locate their prey through characteristic volatiles. However, little is known about whether prey can recognize the volatiles of their predators and if this recognition can increase the efficiency of prey escaping from predators.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiology (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy.
Anthropic activities have significantly elevated cadmium levels, making it a significant stressor in aquatic ecosystems. Present in high concentrations across water bodies, cadmium is known to bioaccumulate and biomagnify throughout the food chain. While the toxic effects of cadmium on the organs and tissues of aquatic species are well-documented, little is known about its impact on sensory systems crucial for survival.
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