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Chemical Senses: Olfaction with picture of lobster and rat

Barry W. Ache

Distinguished Professor of Zoology and Neuroscience and Director of the University of Florida Center for Smell and Taste

Email: bwa@whitney.ufl.edu

Research Program

Research in our group centers around two primary projects linked, ultimately, to odor coding. We focus on cellular mechanisms of olfactory transduction, specifically the involvement of lipid signaling in olfactory transduction.  Olfactory transduction is the process by which the receptor cell converts odor signals into the electrical signal the brain uses to process information.

Our longest-running project, funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), explores the cellular events by which odors activate lobster olfactory receptor cells. In particular, we are focusing on a family of proteins or ion channels called TRP channels that are typically regulated by a phospholipid signaling pathway. TRP channels are increasingly implicated in chemosensory transduction, but the extent of their involvement is still unclear. Much of what we know of TRP channels in other systems comes from studying molecularly cloned TRP channels in non-native or heterologous cells. We are using lobster olfactory receptor cells as models to understand for the first time how a presumptive TRP channel can function in olfactory transduction. Our work to date has made the lobster olfactory presumptive TRP channel one of the best characterized native channels of this type. This work has the potential to contribute to a broader understanding of this functionally important class of ion channels as well as advance our understanding of the cellular mechanism of olfactory transduction. 

A newer project, also funded by the NIDCD, explores the role of phospholipid signaling in mammalian olfactory transduction. In particular, we focus on how a specialized group of membrane lipids, collectively known as 3-phosphoinositides, modulate the output of mammalian olfactory receptor cells. They appear, at least in part, to target the well known cyclic nucleotide gated ion channel in these cells. This project grew out of our work with lobster olfactory receptor cells that showed, for the first time, that 3-phosphoinositides are potentially important in olfactory transduction. For this research we use rats as well as genetically modified mice as animal models.  Problems with any of the cellular events associated with olfactory receptor cell activation would disrupt normal input to the olfactory pathway, and inevitably lead to olfactory impairment. These projects, therefore, are an excellent example of the utility of marine biomedical research, that is, how research on a marine animal can generate information of potential usefulness to understanding human health.

Personnel

Our research program is centered in two locations. One laboratory is located at the Whitney Laboratory in St. Augustine, and the other at the McKnight Brain Institute on the main campus of the University in Gainesville. Our research group presently consists of:

Selected Publications

Pezier, A., Bobkov, Y.V., Ache, B.W. (2009) The Na+/Ca2+ exchanger inhibitor, KB-R794, blocks a non-selective cation channel implicated in chemosensory transduction. J. Neurophysiol. 101:1151-1159.

Ache, B.W. and Young, J.M. (2008) Phylogeny of chemical sensitivity. In: Firestein, S. and Beauchamp, G.K. (Eds). The Senses: A Comprehensive Reference. Vol 4, Olfaction and Taste. p. 1-27. Elsevier/Academic Press.

Bobkov, Y.V. and Ache B.W. (2007) Block by amiloride derivatives of odor-evoked discharge in lobster olfactory receptor neurons through action on a presumptive TRP channel. Chem. Senses. 32:149-159.

Bobkov, Y.V. and Ache, B.W. (2007) Intrinsically bursting olfactory receptor neurons. J. Neurophysiol. 97;1052-1057.

Stepanyan R., Day K., Urban J., Hardin D.L., Shetty R.S., Derby, C.D., Ache B.W., McClintock T.S. (2006) Gene expression and specificity in the mature zone of the lobster olfactory receptor organ. Physiol. Genomics 25:224-233.

McClintock, T.S., Ache, B. W., Derby, C.D. (2006) Lobster olfactory genomics. Integr. Comp. Biol. 46: 940-947.

Bobkov, Y.V. and Ache B.W. (2006) Block by amiloride derivatives of odor-evoked discharge in lobster olfactory receptor neurons through action on a presumptive TRP channel. Chem. Senses. (Nov 10, e-pub ahead of print)

Bobkov, Y.V. and Ache, B.W. (2005) Pharmacological properties and functional role of a TRP-related ion channel in lobster olfactory receptor neurons. J. Neurophysiol. 93:1327-1380.

Doolin, R.E. and Ache, B.W. (2005) Specificity of odorant-evoked inhibition in lobster olfactory receptor neurons. Chem.. Senses. 30:105-110. .

Doolin, R.E. and Ache, B.W. (2005) Cyclic nucleotide signaling mediates an odorant-suppressible chloride conductance in lobster olfactory receptor neurons. Chem. Senses. 30:127-135.