The anatomical logic of smell

Abstract The sense of smell helps us navigate the environment, but its anatomical logic remains unknown. The spatial location of odorant receptor genes (Olfrs) in the nose is widely thought to be independent of the structural diversity of the odorants they detect. Using spatial transcriptomics, we created a genome-wide 3D atlas of the mouse olfactory mucosa (OM), and identified key genes differentially expressed in space. Expression maps reveal that Olfrs are distributed in a continuous and overlapping fashion over five broad zones in the OM. The spatial locations of Olfrs correlate with the mucus solubility of the odorants they recognize. Thus, we provide direct evidence for the chromatographic theory of olfaction, and elucidate the basic logic for the peripheral representation of smell. One-Sentence Summary Chemical solubility is organized topographically in the mouse nose