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Arrestin-mediated desensitization enables intraneuronal olfactory discrimination in Caenorhabditis elegans
- Source :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 119
- Publication Year :
- 2022
- Publisher :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022.
-
Abstract
- In the mammalian olfactory system, cross-talk between olfactory signals is minimized through physical isolation: individual neurons express one or few olfactory receptors among those encoded in the genome. Physical isolation allows for segregation of stimuli during signal transduction; however, in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans , ∼1,300 olfactory receptors are primarily expressed in only 32 neurons, precluding this strategy. Here, we report genetic and behavioral evidence that β-arrestin–mediated desensitization of olfactory receptors, working downstream of the kinase GRK-1, enables discrimination between intraneuronal olfactory stimuli. Our findings suggest that C. elegans exploits β-arrestin desensitization to maximize responsiveness to novel odors, allowing for behaviorally appropriate responses to olfactory stimuli despite the large number of olfactory receptors signaling in single cells. This represents a fundamentally different solution to the problem of olfactory discrimination than that which evolved in mammals, allowing for economical use of a limited number of sensory neurons.
- Subjects :
- Multidisciplinary
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 10916490 and 00278424
- Volume :
- 119
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........105d108c6323123aaf1283107769f6da