The olfactory system is an important chemosensory system. Our identification of odorants is occurred through binding of odorant molecules with... Show moreThe olfactory system is an important chemosensory system. Our identification of odorants is occurred through binding of odorant molecules with olfactory receptors in the olfactory epithelium. In zebrafish, there are four classes of olfactory receptors: trace amine-associated receptor (TAAR), odorant receptor (OR), vomeronasal type 1-like receptor (V1R-like) and vomeronasal type 2-like receptor (V2R-like). In this study, I amplified four olfactory receptors taar1a, or1016, ora5 and olfcc1, which are respectively belong to the four olfactory receptor classes, from cDNA of the zebrafish olfactory epithelium and cloned genes into a mammalian expression vector pCI. The gene sequences of these receptors were not identical as the sequences obtained from GenBank database. The possible reasons for the inconsistency of gene sequence are discussed. I further tranfected these four cloned olfactory receptors in a mammalian cell line Hana3A. Expression of all four olfactory receptors in Hana3A cells was confirmed by immunocytochemistry. In summary, these four olfactory receptors taar1a, or1016, ora5 and olfcc1 were successfully cloned into the pCI vector and can be expressed on cell membrane surface of Hana3A cells. M.S. in Biology, July 2011 Show less
