An ammonium transporter is a non-canonical olfactory receptor for ammonia

We report two hitherto unidentified olfactory neuron populations that mediate neuronal and behavioral responses to ammonia in Drosophila. Their endogenous ammonia responses are lost in Amt mutant flies, and ectopic expression of either Drosophila or Anopheles Amt confers ammonia sensitivity. These results suggest that Amt is the first transporter known to function as an olfactory receptor in animals and that its function may be conserved across insect species.PMID:34111404 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.025

Source: Current Biology - June 10, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Alina Vulpe Hyong S Kim Sydney Ballou Shiuan-Tze Wu Veit Grabe Cesar Nava Gonzales Tiffany Liang Silke Sachse James M Jeanne Chih-Ying Su Karen Menuz Source Type: research