Summary
Temporal response characteristics of three cell types of maleA. polyphemus, each responding to a different pheromone component, have been measured using series of short (20 ms) pheromone pulses. The stimuli were delivered through capillaries 20 μm in diameter and applied to single olfactory sensilla trichodea. Two of three cell types sensitive to (E,Z)-6,11-hexadecadienal and (E,Z)-4,9-tetradecadienyl acetate are able to resolve at least 5 stimuli/s whereas the third, responding to the major pheromone component (E,Z)-6,11-hexadecadienyl acetate, is slower, resolving only about 2 stimuli/s. These results suggest that receptor cells are able to respond to pulses of pheromone concentration as they occur downwind from a point source. The time-averaged number of nerve impulses does not seem to be a reliable measure of the amount of pheromone reaching the sensillum. Responses of the cells thus reflect the non-uniform distribution of pheromone in a plume rather than the average concentration.
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Rumbo, E.R., Kaissling, K.E. Temporal resolution of odour pulses by three types of pheromone receptor cells inAntheraea polyphemus . J. Comp. Physiol. 165, 281–291 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00619348
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00619348