In the mouse olfactory neuroepithelium, vomeronasal neurons express an FPR immune receptor (green).RODRIGUEZ LABORATORY
The Paper Q. Dietschi et al., “Evolution of immune chemoreceptors into sensors of the outside world,” PNAS, doi:10.1073/pnas.1704009114, 2017 Suspicious Similarities Proteins known as formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) on the surface of immune cells are involved in detecting signs of infection. Previously, Ivan Rodriguez of the University of Geneva and colleagues had found that FPR-like receptors on the surface of neurons in the olfactory system of rodents can trigger the cells’ activation, but it wasn’t clear how immune proteins had evolved to sense smell. Rodent Innovation By comparing the genomes of multiple mammal species, the researchers homed in on several events involved in the coopting of FPRs for olfactory sensing. Twice, a duplicated FPR gene landed near a promoter sequence for vomeronasal receptors; later, the ...
