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What Reaches the Antenna? How to Calibrate Odor Flux and Ligand-Receptor Affinities

Andersson, Martin N LU ; Schlyter, Fredrik ; Hill, Sharon Rose and Dekker, Teun (2012) In Chemical Senses 37(5). p.403-420
Abstract
Physiological studies on olfaction frequently ignore the airborne quantities of stimuli reaching the sensory organ. We used a gas chromatography-calibrated photoionization detector to estimate quantities released from standard Pasteur pipette stimulus cartridges during repeated puffing of 27 compounds and verified how lack of quantification could obscure olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) affinities. Chemical structure of the stimulus, solvent, dose, storage condition, puff interval, and puff number all influenced airborne quantities. A model including boiling point and lipophilicity, but excluding vapor pressure, predicted airborne quantities from stimuli in paraffin oil on filter paper. We recorded OSN responses of Drosophila melanogaster,... (More)
Physiological studies on olfaction frequently ignore the airborne quantities of stimuli reaching the sensory organ. We used a gas chromatography-calibrated photoionization detector to estimate quantities released from standard Pasteur pipette stimulus cartridges during repeated puffing of 27 compounds and verified how lack of quantification could obscure olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) affinities. Chemical structure of the stimulus, solvent, dose, storage condition, puff interval, and puff number all influenced airborne quantities. A model including boiling point and lipophilicity, but excluding vapor pressure, predicted airborne quantities from stimuli in paraffin oil on filter paper. We recorded OSN responses of Drosophila melanogaster, Ips typographus, and Culex quinquefasciatus, to known quantities of airborne stimuli. These demonstrate that inferred OSN tuning width, ligand affinity, and classification can be confounded and require stimulus quantification. Additionally, proper dose-response analysis shows that Drosophila AB3A OSNs are not promiscuous, but highly specific for ethyl hexanoate, with other earlier proposed ligands 10- to 10 000-fold less potent. Finally, we reanalyzed published Drosophila OSN data (DoOR) and demonstrate substantial shifts in affinities after compensation for quantity and puff number. We conclude that consistent experimental protocols are necessary for correct OSN classification and present some simple rules that make calibration, even retroactively, readily possible. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
DoOR, electrophysiological recordings, olfaction, photoionization, detector, receptor, vapor pressure
in
Chemical Senses
volume
37
issue
5
pages
403 - 420
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • wos:000304055700003
  • scopus:84861203689
ISSN
1464-3553
DOI
10.1093/chemse/bjs009
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7dc7bb14-53d4-4f75-a017-9ea19b12deda (old id 2812874)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:39:54
date last changed
2022-02-17 20:10:34
@article{7dc7bb14-53d4-4f75-a017-9ea19b12deda,
  abstract     = {{Physiological studies on olfaction frequently ignore the airborne quantities of stimuli reaching the sensory organ. We used a gas chromatography-calibrated photoionization detector to estimate quantities released from standard Pasteur pipette stimulus cartridges during repeated puffing of 27 compounds and verified how lack of quantification could obscure olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) affinities. Chemical structure of the stimulus, solvent, dose, storage condition, puff interval, and puff number all influenced airborne quantities. A model including boiling point and lipophilicity, but excluding vapor pressure, predicted airborne quantities from stimuli in paraffin oil on filter paper. We recorded OSN responses of Drosophila melanogaster, Ips typographus, and Culex quinquefasciatus, to known quantities of airborne stimuli. These demonstrate that inferred OSN tuning width, ligand affinity, and classification can be confounded and require stimulus quantification. Additionally, proper dose-response analysis shows that Drosophila AB3A OSNs are not promiscuous, but highly specific for ethyl hexanoate, with other earlier proposed ligands 10- to 10 000-fold less potent. Finally, we reanalyzed published Drosophila OSN data (DoOR) and demonstrate substantial shifts in affinities after compensation for quantity and puff number. We conclude that consistent experimental protocols are necessary for correct OSN classification and present some simple rules that make calibration, even retroactively, readily possible.}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Martin N and Schlyter, Fredrik and Hill, Sharon Rose and Dekker, Teun}},
  issn         = {{1464-3553}},
  keywords     = {{DoOR; electrophysiological recordings; olfaction; photoionization; detector; receptor; vapor pressure}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{403--420}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Chemical Senses}},
  title        = {{What Reaches the Antenna? How to Calibrate Odor Flux and Ligand-Receptor Affinities}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjs009}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/chemse/bjs009}},
  volume       = {{37}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}