Molecular and Spatial Organization of the Primary Olfactory System and its Responses to Social Odors

Abstract

The detection of olfactory cues is essential to signal food, predators, and social encounters. To determine how the sensory detection of physiologically relevant odors is systematically mapped into the mouse primary olfactory system, we used Multiplexed Error Robust Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (MERFISH) to construct a molecular atlas of odorant receptor (OR) expression in the main olfactory epithelium (MOE) and olfactory bulb (OB). We comprehensively quantified the expression of the mouse OR repertoire and uncovered stereotypical gradients of sensory neuron distribution in the MOE along two, central-to-peripheral and basal-to-apical, axes. Projections of sensory neurons mirror MOE gradients along the dorsal-ventral and anterior-posterior axes of the OB, respectively. Integration with sequencing data revealed candidate signaling molecules underlying this spatial organization. Co-imaging OR and activity marker expression identified distinct spatial domains of sensory responses in the MOE and OB, providing a topographical basis for olfactory responses to ethologically relevant odors.