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Article

Localized Expression of Olfactory Receptor Genes in the Olfactory Organ of Common Minke Whales

by
Ayumi Hirose
1,2,*,
Gen Nakamura
2,
Masato Nikaido
1,
Yoshihiro Fujise
3,
Hidehiro Kato
2,3 and
Takushi Kishida
4,5
1
School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
2
Department of Ocean Sciences, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan
3
The Institute of Cetacean Research, Tokyo 104-0055, Japan
4
Museum of Natural and Environmental History, Shizuoka 422-8017, Japan
5
College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa 252-0880, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(7), 3855; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25073855
Submission received: 21 February 2024 / Revised: 13 March 2024 / Accepted: 20 March 2024 / Published: 29 March 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Research on Olfactory and Gustatory Receptors)
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Abstract

Baleen whales (Mysticeti) possess the necessary anatomical structures and genetic elements for olfaction. Nevertheless, the olfactory receptor gene (OR) repertoire has undergone substantial degeneration in the cetacean lineage following the divergence of the Artiodactyla and Cetacea. The functionality of highly degenerated mysticete ORs within their olfactory epithelium remains unknown. In this study, we extracted total RNA from the nasal mucosae of common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) to investigate ORs’ localized expression. All three sections of the mucosae examined in the nasal chamber displayed comparable histological structure. However, the posterior portion of the frontoturbinal region exhibited notably high OR expression. Neither the olfactory bulb nor the external skin exhibited the expression of these genes. Although this species possesses four intact non-class-2 ORs, all the ORs expressed in the nasal mucosae belong to class-2, implying the loss of aversion to specific odorants. These anatomical and genomic analyses suggest that ORs are still responsible for olfaction within the nasal region of baleen whales, enabling them to detect desirable scents such as prey and potential mating partners.
Keywords: epithelium; histology; Mysticeti; nasal complex; olfaction; RNA-seq; secondary-aquatic epithelium; histology; Mysticeti; nasal complex; olfaction; RNA-seq; secondary-aquatic
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MDPI and ACS Style

Hirose, A.; Nakamura, G.; Nikaido, M.; Fujise, Y.; Kato, H.; Kishida, T. Localized Expression of Olfactory Receptor Genes in the Olfactory Organ of Common Minke Whales. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 3855. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25073855

AMA Style

Hirose A, Nakamura G, Nikaido M, Fujise Y, Kato H, Kishida T. Localized Expression of Olfactory Receptor Genes in the Olfactory Organ of Common Minke Whales. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2024; 25(7):3855. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25073855

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hirose, Ayumi, Gen Nakamura, Masato Nikaido, Yoshihiro Fujise, Hidehiro Kato, and Takushi Kishida. 2024. "Localized Expression of Olfactory Receptor Genes in the Olfactory Organ of Common Minke Whales" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 25, no. 7: 3855. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25073855

APA Style

Hirose, A., Nakamura, G., Nikaido, M., Fujise, Y., Kato, H., & Kishida, T. (2024). Localized Expression of Olfactory Receptor Genes in the Olfactory Organ of Common Minke Whales. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(7), 3855. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25073855

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