Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Odorant response of individual sensilla on theDrosophila antenna

  • Articles from the ICINN 97 Conference
  • Sensory Systems
  • Published:
Invertebrate Neuroscience

Abstract

We have documented odor responses of all morphological classes of sensilla on the surface of theDrosophila antenna: sensilla basiconica, sensilla trichodea, and sensilla coeloconica. Both subtypes of s. basiconica, large and small, respond to odors. S. trichodea fall into different functional types. Type 1 appears narrowly tuned, as it responded only tocis-vaccenyl acetate, believed to be a pheromone. Type 2 responded totrans-2-hexenal and 4-methyl cyclohexanol. These two types of s. trichodea are differentially distributed on the antennal surface, and have dramatically different frequencies of spontaneous action potentials. Likewise, there are multiple types of s. coeloconica. One type is broadly tuned, responding most strongly to a test stimulus of butyric acid, but also to a variety of other odors; it is restricted to the dorso-medial portion of the third antennal segment. A second type gave detectable responses only totrans-2-hexenal. These results demonstrate that all classes of sensilla are olfactory, and they reveal the organizational complexity of theDrosophila olfactory system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ayer, R. K. and Carlson, J. (1992) Olfactory physiology in theDrosophila antenna and maxillary palp: acj6 distinguishes two classes of odorant pathways.J. Neurobiol.,23, 965–982.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bartelt, R., Schaner, A. and Jackson, L. (1985)cis-Vaccenyl acetate as an aggregation pheromone inDrosophila melangogaster.J. Chem. Ecol.,11, 1747–1756.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, J. (1996) Olfaction inDrosophila: from odor to behavior.Trends in Genetics,12, 175–180.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ferveur, J., Cobb, M. and Jallon, J. (1989) Complex Chemical Messages inDrosophila. InNeurobiology of Sensory Systems, ed. R. Singh and N. Strausfeld, pp 397–409. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Den Otter, C. and Van Der Goes Van Naters, W. (1993) Responses of individual olfactory cells of tse-tse flies to phenols from cartle urine.Physiol. Entomol.,18, 43–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guerin, P. and Stadler, E. (1982) Host odour perception in three phytophagous Diptera- a comparative study.Proceedings, Fifth International Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships, 95–105.

  • Guillet, J. and Bernard, J. (1972) Shape and amplitude of the spikes induced by natural or electrical stimulation in insect receptors.J. Insect Physiol.,18, 2155–2171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, B. and Rodrigues, V. (1997)atonal is a proneural gene for a subset of olfactory sense organs inDrosophila.Genes to Cells,2, 225–233.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hekmat-Scafe, D., Steinbrecht, A. and Carlson, J. (1997) Co-Expression of two odorant-binding protein homologs inDrosophila: Implications for Olfactory Coding.J. Neuroscience,17, 1616–1624.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Helfand, S. and Carlson, J. (1989) Isolation and characterization of an olfactory mutant inDrosophila with a chemically specific defect.Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA,86, 2908–2912.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Riesgo-Escovar, J., Piekos, B. and Carlson, J. (1997) TheDrosophila antenna: ultrastructural and physiological studies in wild-type and lozenge mutants.J. Comp. Physiol. A,180, 151–160.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Riesgo-Escovar, J., Raha, D. and Carlson, J. (1995) Requirement for a phospholipase C in odor response: overlap between olfaction and vision inDrosophila.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA,92, 2864–2868.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Siddiqi, O. (1987) Neurogenetics of olfaction inDrosophila melanogaster.Trends in Genetics,3, 137–142.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Siddiqi, O. (1991) Olfaction inDrosophila. InChemical Senses, ed. C. Wysocki, and M. Kare, pp. 79–96. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stocker, R. (1994) The organization of the chemosensory system inDrosophila melanogaster: a review.Cell Tissue Res.,275, 3–26.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Venkatesh, S. and Singh, R. (1984) Sensilla on the third antennal segment ofDrosophila melanogaster meigen.Int. J. Insect. Morphol. Embryol.,13, 51–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Yale University, 06520-8103, New Haven, CT, USA

    Peter Clyne & John R. Carlson

  2. Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research, 222 Maple Avenue, 01545, Shrewsbury, MA, USA

    Alan Grant & Robert O'Connell

Authors
  1. Peter Clyne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alan Grant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Robert O'Connell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. John R. Carlson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John R. Carlson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Clyne, P., Grant, A., O'Connell, R. et al. Odorant response of individual sensilla on theDrosophila antenna. Invertebrate Neuroscience 3, 127–135 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02480367

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02480367

Key Words

Search

Navigation