Expression of candidate pheromone receptor genes in vomeronasal neurons

In mammals, olfactory sensory perception is mediated by two anatomicallyand functionally distinct organs: the main olfactory epithelium (MOE) andthe vomeronasal organ (VON). Pheromones activate the VNO and elicit acharacteristic array of innate reproductive and social behaviors, alongwith dramatic neuroendocrine responses. Recent approaches have provided newinsights into the molecular biology of sensory transduction in the VNO.Differential screening of cDNA libraries constructed from single sensoryneurons from the rat VNO has led to the isolation of a family of geneswhich are likely to encode mammalian pheromone receptors. The isolation ofthese receptors from the VNO might permit the analysis of the molecularevents which translate the bindings of pheromones into innate stereotypicbehaviors and help to elucidate the logic of pheromone perception inmammals.