Characteristics of Olfactory Organs in Sika Deer (Cervus nippon)

In this study, an immunohistochemical analysis was conducted to clarify the distribution of G proteins in the olfactory organ of sika deer (Cervus nippon). A Gαs /olf antibody was found to label the free border of the olfactory epithelium and a Gαi -2 antibody labeled the free border of the vomeronasal sensory epithelium; however, a Gαo antibody positive reaction was not observed at any epithelial free border. These results indicate that olfactory receptor cells expressing odorant receptors are distributed in the olfactory epithelium of the deer and those expressing type 1 vomeronasal receptors are distributed in the vomeronasal organ. Therefore, it is suggested that the same olfactory receptor families are expressed in the olfactory organ of sika deer as in many mammals and that sika deer has a similar olfactory system to those many mammals.