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The Journal of Experimental Biology 206, 1697-1706 (2003)
doi: 10.1242/jeb.00339

Evidence of a novel transduction pathway mediating detection of polyamines by the zebrafish olfactory system

W. C. Michel^*, M. J. Sanderson, J. K. Olson and D. L. Lipschitz

Department of Physiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84108-1297, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: mike.michel{at}m.cc.utah.edu)

Accepted 17 February 2003

To better understand the full extent of the odorant detection capabilities of fish, we investigated the olfactory sensitivity of zebrafish to a monoamine and several polyamines using electrophysiological and activity-dependent labeling techniques. Electro-olfactogram (EOG) recording methods established the relative stimulatory effectiveness of these odorants as: spermine >> spermidine agmatine > glutamine > putrescine cadaverine histamine > artificial freshwater. The detection threshold for the potent polyamines was approximately 1 µmol l^–1. Cross-adaptation experiments suggested that multiple receptors are involved in polyamine detection. Three observations indicated that polyamine signaling may involve a transduction cascade distinct from those used by either amino acids or bile salts. Like bile salts and the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin, but unlike amino acid odorants, polyamines failed to stimulate activity-dependent labeling of olfactory sensory neurons with the cation channel permeant probe agmatine, suggesting a signaling pathway different from that used by amino acid stimuli. Also supporting distinct amino acid and polyamine signaling pathways is the finding that altering phospholipase C activity with the inhibitor U-73122 significantly reduced amino acid-evoked responses, but had little effect on polyamine- (or bile salt-) evoked responses. Altering cyclic nucleotide-mediated signaling by adenylate cyclase activation with forskolin, which significantly reduced responses to bile salts, failed to attenuate polyamine responses, suggesting that polyamines and bile salts do not share a common transduction cascade. Collectively, these findings suggest that polyamines are a new class of olfactory stimuli transduced by a receptor-mediated, second messenger signaling pathway that is distinct from those used by amino acids or bile salts.

Key words: electro-olfactogram, activity labeling, olfactory receptor neuron, odorant receptor, zebrafish, Danio rerio

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