Comparative chemosensation from receptors to ecology

Bargmann, Cornelia I.

¹Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10021, USA.

doi:10.1038/nature05402

Author information Reprints and permissions information is available at npg.nature.com/reprintsandpermissions. The author declares no competing financial interests. Correspondence should be addressed to the author ([email protected]).

Nature 444(7117):p 295-301, November 16, 2006.

Odour perception is initiated by specific interactions between odorants and a large repertoire of receptors in olfactory neurons. During the past few years, considerable progress has been made in tracing olfactory perception from the odorant receptor protein to the activity of olfactory neurons to higher processing centres and, ultimately, to behaviour. The most complete picture is emerging for the simplest olfactory system studied - that of the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. Comparison of rodent, insect and nematode olfaction reveals surprising differences and unexpected similarities among chemosensory systems.