Type 1 vomeronasal receptor expression in juvenile and adult lungfish olfactory organ

Lungfish are the most closely related fish to tetrapods. The olfactory organ of lungfish contains lamellae and abundant recesses at the base of lamellae. Based on the ultrastructural and histochemical characteristics, the lamellar olfactory epithelium (OE), covering the surface of lamellae, and the recess epithelium, contained in the recesses, are thought to correspond to the OE of teleosts and the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of tetrapods. With increasing body size, the recesses increase in number and distribution range in the olfactory organ. In tetrapods, the expression of olfactory receptors is different between the OE and VNO; for instance, the type 1 vomeronasal receptor (V1R) is expressed only in the OE in amphibians and mainly in the VNO in mammals. We recently reported that V1R-expressing cells are contained mainly in the lamellar OE but also rarely in the recess epithelium in the olfactory organ of lungfish of approximately 30 cm body length. However, it is unclear whether the distribution of V1R-expressing cells in the olfactory organ varies during development. In this study, we compared the expression of V1Rs in the olfactory organs between juveniles and adults of the African lungfish Protopterus aethiopicus and South American lungfish, Lepidosiren paradoxa. The density of V1R-expressing cells was higher in the lamellae than in the recesses in all specimens evaluated, and this pattern was more pronounced in juveniles than adults. In addition, the juveniles showed a higher density of V1R-expressing cells in the lamellae compared with the adults. Our results imply that differences in lifestyle between juveniles and adults are related to differences in the density of V1R-expressing cells in the lamellae of lungfish.

Automated summary

Lungfish have a unique olfactory organ that consists of lamellar olfactory epithelium (OE) and recess epithelium, which correspond to the OE of fish and the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of tetrapods. The number and distribution range of recesses in the olfactory organ increase with body size. V1R-expressing cells are mainly found in the lamellar OE but also in the recess epithelium of lungfish, and the density of these cells is higher in juveniles compared to adults.