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Ultrasensitive pheromone detection by mammalian vomeronasal neurons

Nature volume 405, pages 792–796 (2000)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 30 November 2000

Abstract

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is a chemoreceptive organ that is thought to transduce pheromones into electrical responses that regulate sexual, hormonal and reproductive function in mammals1,2,3,4,5. The characteristics of pheromone signal detection by vomeronasal neurons remain unclear3,5. Here we use a mouse VNO slice preparation to show that six putative pheromones evoke excitatory responses in single vomeronasal neurons, leading to action potential generation and elevated calcium entry. The detection threshold for some of these chemicals is remarkably low, near 10-11 M, placing these neurons among the most sensitive chemodetectors in mammals. Using confocal calcium imaging, we map the epithelial representation of the pheromones to show that each of the ligands activates a unique, nonoverlapping subset of vomeronasal neurons located in apical zones of the epithelium. These neurons show highly selective tuning properties and their tuning curves do not broaden with increasing concentrations of ligand, unlike those of receptor neurons in the main olfactory epithelium. These findings provide a basis for understanding chemical signals that regulate mammalian communication and sexual behaviour.

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Figure 1: Pheromone-induced excitatory electrical responses in VNO.
Figure 2: Pheromone-induced Ca2+ elevations in single VNs.
Figure 3: Spatial representation of functional, pheromone-induced activity in VNO.
Figure 4: Chemoselectivity of VNs.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grants from the NIH to T.L.-Z., M.V.N., M.T.S. and F.Z., and by an intramural grant from the University of Maryland (F.Z.). A.P.L. was a recipient of an NIDCD training grant. We thank R. Bock for programming spike analysis software.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, 21201, Maryland, USA

    Trese Leinders-Zufall, Andrew P. Lane, Adam C. Puche, Michael T. Shipley & Frank Zufall

  2. Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, 47405, Indiana, USA

    Weidong Ma & Milos V. Novotny

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  1. Trese Leinders-Zufall
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Correspondence to Frank Zufall.

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Leinders-Zufall, T., Lane, A., Puche, A. et al. Ultrasensitive pheromone detection by mammalian vomeronasal neurons. Nature 405, 792–796 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35015572

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