The sense of smell allows an organism to be aware of the chemical information of the external world. In most land animals, the olfactory... Show moreThe sense of smell allows an organism to be aware of the chemical information of the external world. In most land animals, the olfactory system enables the perception of both volatile chemicals, as well as pheromones--chemicals released by animals that regulate their social activities. Among several factors that mediate olfaction, connexin 36 (Cx36), a subunit of gap junctions, has been suggested to play a crucial role in the olfactory system. In the research presented herein, I performed habituation/dishabituation studies on both Cx36 knockout (Cx36 KO) and wild-type mice to determine their exploration patterns towards four odorants. The results indicate that Cx36 KO and wild-type mice behaved differently when they were given defined odorants. In general, Cx36 KO mice spent more time exploring odorants. Cx36 KO and wild-type mice also exhibited different detection threshold towards given odorants. Moreover, cross-habituation between benzaldehyde and octaldehyde was established in Cx36 KO mice at the concentration of 10-4%, which was different from that in wild-type mice. These results may suggest important functions of Cx36 gap junctions in odor detection and integration in mammals. Keywords: Connexin 36, gap junction, olfactory system, habituation/dishabituation M.S. in Biology, May 2012 Show less
