Be Fast to Retain Your Identity: The Role of Olfactory Marker Protein in Olfactory Receptor Neurons

Material below summarizes the article The Odorant Receptor-Dependent Role of Olfactory Marker Protein in Olfactory Receptor Neurons, published on March 9, 2016, in JNeurosci and authored by Michele Dibattista and Johannes Reisert.

Animals, in their natural environment, sample their surroundings in search for chemical cues that are crucial for their surviving. Finding food and friends or avoiding foes are only a few of the plethora of behaviors that odorous signals can trigger. These volatile odor cues are detected by olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) via a signal transduction mechanism that converts chemical information into an electrical signal that is sent to the brain in form of action potentials.

About the Contributors

Michele Dibattista

Michele Dibattista is an assistant professor in the department of basic medical sciences, neuroscience, and science organs at the University of Bari Aldo Moro.

Johannes Reisert, PhD

Johannes Reisert’s lab at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia investigates the roles of transduction proteins in olfactory receptor neurons and how these proteins shape the odorant-induced response both in odorant sensitivity as well as response kinetics.