2012/01/13 by Brian E. Kolterman, Ivan Iossifov, Kolterman, Brian E. +3
Engineering · Neuroscience · Nursing · #Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies #Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques #FOS: Biological sciences #Molecular Networks (q-bio.MN) #Neurons and Cognition (q-bio.NC) #Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1201.2933
openalex publication_date 2012/01/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In vertebrates, olfactory sensory neurons choose only one olfactory receptor to produce out of ~2000 possibilities. The mechanism for how this singular receptor expression occurs is unknown. Here we propose a mechanism that can stochastically select a single gene out of a large number of possibilities. In this model, receptor genes compete for a limited pool of transcription factors (TFs). The gene that recruits a target number of TFs is selected for expression. To support this mechanism, we have attempted to detect repeated motifs within known sequences of mouse olfactory receptor promoters. We find motifs that are significantly overrepresented in olfactory versus other gene promoters. We identify possible TFs that can target these motifs. Our model suggests that a small number of TFs can control the selection of a single gene out of ~2000 possibilities.