Avian Olfactory Receptor Gene Repertoires: Evidence For A Well-developed Sense Of Smell In Birds?

Main Category: Veterinary
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 16 Jul 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Avian olfaction is poorly understood: birds are widely regarded as relying primarily on visual and auditory inputs.

Among vertebrates, the sense of smell is mediated by olfactory receptors (ORs). We estimated the number of OR genes in nine bird species that occupy different ecological niches and found that they vary in relation to the area in the brain that is responsible for the processing of olfactory information.

Furthermore, we found that a high proportion of the avian OR genes are potentially functional.

Our results support recent behavioural studies suggesting that the importance of the sense of smell for birds may have been underestimated.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

www.publishing.royalsociety.org/proceedingsb

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