Localization of olfactory receptors in high-flux regions

Determine to what extent axolotls and other aquatic organisms concentrate olfactory receptors in regions of the epithelium where odor molecules are most likely to arrive.

Background

The simulations show that odor delivery to the olfactory epithelium is spatially heterogeneous. In the aquatic chamber, adsorption is distributed broadly across the chamber, whereas terrestrial adsorption is concentrated near the entrance.

Because odor molecules remain near receptors only briefly and many molecules may be required to trigger a response, the paper proposes that receptor placement could adapt to these spatially varying delivery probabilities. Whether such spatial specialization occurs in axolotls or other aquatic organisms is left unresolved.