Avian olfactory receptor gene repertoires: evidence for a well-developed sense of smell in birds?
Among vertebrates, the sense of smell is mediated by olfactory receptors (ORs) expressed in sensory neurons within the olfactory epithelium. Comparative genomic studies suggest that the olfactory acuity of mammalian species correlates positively with both the total number and the proportion of funct...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 2024-06-02T08:14:27+00:00 Avian olfactory receptor gene repertoires: evidence for a well-developed sense of smell in birds? Steiger, Silke S Fidler, Andrew E Valcu, Mihai Kempenaers, Bart 2008 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 275, issue 1649, page 2309-2317 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2008 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 2024-05-07T14:16:34Z Among vertebrates, the sense of smell is mediated by olfactory receptors (ORs) expressed in sensory neurons within the olfactory epithelium. Comparative genomic studies suggest that the olfactory acuity of mammalian species correlates positively with both the total number and the proportion of functional OR genes encoded in their genomes. In contrast to mammals, avian olfaction is poorly understood, with birds widely regarded as relying primarily on visual and auditory inputs. Here, we show that in nine bird species from seven orders (blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus black coucal, Centropus grillii brown kiwi, Apteryx australis canary, Serinus canaria galah, Eolophus roseicapillus red jungle fowl, Gallus gallus kakapo, Strigops habroptilus mallard, Anas platyrhynchos snow petrel, Pagodroma nivea ), the majority of amplified OR sequences are predicted to be from potentially functional genes. This finding is somewhat surprising as one previous report suggested that the majority of OR genes in an avian (red jungle fowl) genomic sequence are non-functional pseudogenes. We also show that it is not the estimated proportion of potentially functional OR genes, but rather the estimated total number of OR genes that correlates positively with relative olfactory bulb size, an anatomical correlate of olfactory capability. We further demonstrate that all the nine bird genomes examined encode OR genes belonging to a large gene clade, termed γ-c, the expansion of which appears to be a shared characteristic of class Aves. In summary, our findings suggest that olfaction in birds may be a more important sense than generally believed. Article in Journal/Newspaper Snow Petrel The Royal Society Nivea ENVELOPE(-45.479,-45.479,-60.580,-60.580) Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 275 1649 2309 2317 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The Royal Society |
op_collection_id |
crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Among vertebrates, the sense of smell is mediated by olfactory receptors (ORs) expressed in sensory neurons within the olfactory epithelium. Comparative genomic studies suggest that the olfactory acuity of mammalian species correlates positively with both the total number and the proportion of functional OR genes encoded in their genomes. In contrast to mammals, avian olfaction is poorly understood, with birds widely regarded as relying primarily on visual and auditory inputs. Here, we show that in nine bird species from seven orders (blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus black coucal, Centropus grillii brown kiwi, Apteryx australis canary, Serinus canaria galah, Eolophus roseicapillus red jungle fowl, Gallus gallus kakapo, Strigops habroptilus mallard, Anas platyrhynchos snow petrel, Pagodroma nivea ), the majority of amplified OR sequences are predicted to be from potentially functional genes. This finding is somewhat surprising as one previous report suggested that the majority of OR genes in an avian (red jungle fowl) genomic sequence are non-functional pseudogenes. We also show that it is not the estimated proportion of potentially functional OR genes, but rather the estimated total number of OR genes that correlates positively with relative olfactory bulb size, an anatomical correlate of olfactory capability. We further demonstrate that all the nine bird genomes examined encode OR genes belonging to a large gene clade, termed γ-c, the expansion of which appears to be a shared characteristic of class Aves. In summary, our findings suggest that olfaction in birds may be a more important sense than generally believed. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Steiger, Silke S Fidler, Andrew E Valcu, Mihai Kempenaers, Bart |
spellingShingle |
Steiger, Silke S Fidler, Andrew E Valcu, Mihai Kempenaers, Bart Avian olfactory receptor gene repertoires: evidence for a well-developed sense of smell in birds? |
author_facet |
Steiger, Silke S Fidler, Andrew E Valcu, Mihai Kempenaers, Bart |
author_sort |
Steiger, Silke S |
title |
Avian olfactory receptor gene repertoires: evidence for a well-developed sense of smell in birds? |
title_short |
Avian olfactory receptor gene repertoires: evidence for a well-developed sense of smell in birds? |
title_full |
Avian olfactory receptor gene repertoires: evidence for a well-developed sense of smell in birds? |
title_fullStr |
Avian olfactory receptor gene repertoires: evidence for a well-developed sense of smell in birds? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Avian olfactory receptor gene repertoires: evidence for a well-developed sense of smell in birds? |
title_sort |
avian olfactory receptor gene repertoires: evidence for a well-developed sense of smell in birds? |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-45.479,-45.479,-60.580,-60.580) |
geographic |
Nivea |
geographic_facet |
Nivea |
genre |
Snow Petrel |
genre_facet |
Snow Petrel |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 275, issue 1649, page 2309-2317 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0607 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
275 |
container_issue |
1649 |
container_start_page |
2309 |
op_container_end_page |
2317 |
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1800738303300861952 |