Journal article

Publication year: 2016

Pages: 986-998

Journal: The Journal of Comparative Neurology

Volume number: 524

Issue number: 5

ISSN: 0021-9967

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.23887

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 
The amphibian olfactory system undergoes massive remodeling during metamorphosis. The transition from aquatic olfaction in larvae to semiaquatic or airborne olfaction in adults requires anatomical, cellular, and molecular modifications. These changes are particularly pronounced in Pipidae, whose adults have secondarily adapted to an aquatic life style. In the fully aquatic larvae of Xenopus laevis, the main olfactory epithelium specialized for sensing water-borne odorous substances lines the principal olfactory cavity (PC), whereas a separate olfactory epithelium lies in the vomeronasal organ (VNO). During metamorphosis, the epithelium of the PC is rearranged into the adult "air nose," whereas a new olfactory epithelium, the adult "water nose," forms in the emerging middle cavity (MC). Here we performed a stage-by-stage investigation of the anatomical changes of the Xenopus olfactory organ during metamorphosis. We quantified cell death in all olfactory epithelia and found massive cell death in the PC and the VNO, suggesting that the majority of larval sensory neurons is replaced during metamorphosis in both sensory epithelia. The moderate cell death in the MC shows that during the formation of this epithelium some cells are sorted out. Our results show that during MC formation some supporting cells, but not sensory neurons, are relocated from the PC to the MC and that they are eventually eliminated during metamorphosis. Together our findings illustrate the structural and cellular changes of the Xenopus olfactory organ during metamorphosis.

Harvard Citation style: Dittrich, K., Kuttler, J., Hassenklöver, T. and Manzini, I. (2016) Metamorphic remodeling of the olfactory organ of the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 524(5), pp. 986-998. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.23887

APA Citation style: Dittrich, K., Kuttler, J., Hassenklöver, T., & Manzini, I. (2016). Metamorphic remodeling of the olfactory organ of the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis. The Journal of Comparative Neurology. 524(5), 986-998. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.23887