Abstract
Several lines of evidence suggest that, for certain odorants, olfactory signal transduction may be mediated by a stimulatory G-protein coupled adenylate cyclase cascade. Two stimulatory G-proteins, G olf and G s , are expressed in olfactory tissue. To evaluate their relative contributions to the process of odorant signal transduction, specific antisera were used to determine the distribution and relative abundance of G olfα and G in rat olfactory neuroepithelium and olfactory sensory cilia. These analyses demonstrate that (1) Golf is far more abundant than G s in olfactory neuroepithelium and (2) G olf is essentially the only stimulatory G-protein present in olfactory sensory cilia.