Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Single Sensillum Recordings in the Insects Drosophila melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae
Published on: February 17, 2010
Structure and function of insect olfactory sensilla
1Max-Planck-Institut für Verhaltensphysiologie, Seewiesen, Germany.
Abstract:
Olfactory sensilla show a large diversification of sensillum types even in the same species. Thus, double-walled and single-walled sensilla with highly different wall pores are usually found on the same antenna, and these may appear in the form of long slender hairs, pore plates or pit pegs. The selective constraints leading to this diversification are evident only in a few cases, e.g. the demand for extreme sensitivity in moth pheromone communication supported the evolution of long sensilla trichodea with high efficiency of capturing odour molecules. The structural diversity continues with the odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) in the sensillum lymph surrounding the sensory dendrites. These proteins may be subdivided into pheromone-binding proteins and two classes of general odorant-binding proteins according to their primary sequence. Different sensilla of the same morphological type may contain different OBPs of the same or of different subclasses. However, OBPs of different subclasses are not co-localized in the same individual sensory hair. The presence of a given OBP is related more to the functional specificity of the receptor cells than to the morphological type of the sensillum, suggesting a role of OBPs in stimulus recognition.
Related Concept Videos
Olfaction
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...
Sensory Functions of the Skin
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...
Introduction to Special Senses
Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure
Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway
The olfactory...
Tactile and Chemical Senses

