![]() ![]() Odors are first recognized by a large repertoire of olfactory receptors (ORs), each of which is expressed in a specific class of OSNs ( Gao et al., 2000 Vosshall et al., 2000). In this study, we investigate whether synergized responses are encoded in the OSNs, using in vivo extracellular single-unit recording and behavioral studies in the relatively simple and well defined Drosophila melanogaster olfactory system. Empirical evidence for synergism between plant-derived volatiles and specific aromatic compounds or pheromones have been documented in the oriental fruit moth ( Piñero and Dorn, 2007), and in the males of the codling moth ( Yang et al., 2004) and corn earthworm ( Ochieng et al., 2002). Synergistic interactions among the components of an odor blend have been proposed to contribute to the attraction of some species of insects to their host plants ( Visser, 1986). However, OSNs are also capable of exhibiting synergism, a less well documented phenomenon, where the response of a binary mixture is greater than the simple summation of the individual components present ( Deisig et al., 2006). Among the various types of interactions observed with odor mixture, the most frequent interaction is suppression, where one of the odors cancels the response to the other. For example, in rats, the magnitude of the response of the olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) to odor mixtures is different from the simple summation of the individual components ( Duchamp-Viret et al., 2003). The measured response to an odor mixture is often inconsistent with predictions based on measured responses to the individual components contained in the mixture ( Deisig et al., 2006 Eschbach et al., 2011 Barth et al., 2014). ![]() Previous studies suggested that the identity of individual components is lost in the blend and, as a result, odor mixtures are perceived differently ( Freitag et al., 1998 Syed and Guerin, 2004 Rebora et al., 2012, 2013 Faucher et al., 2013 Roussel et al., 2014 Schütze et al., 2014). Yet, ironically, most studies in olfaction have been directed toward sensing single odor, and different aspects of sensing odor mixtures have remained unexplored. Most odors that animals encounter in their natural environment are complex mixtures of many chemicals. ![]()
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