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David Jonathan Barbour

• Olfactory receptors (OR) are G-protein-coupled membrane receptors (GPCRs) that comprise the largest vertebrate multigene family (~1,000 ORs in mouse and rat, \(\sim\) 350 in human); they are expressed individually in the sensory neurons of the nose and have also been identified in human testis and sperm. We employed a bifurcate proteomic strategy in order to: (i) examine odorant induced changes to protein regulation in the murine olfactory epithelium (OE); and, (ii) to identify olfactory receptors in human spermatozoa. Using DIGE several significantly regulated proteins of the OE were identified in mice exposed to either a pulsed or continuous treatment of Octanal. Of note was the down-regulation of odorant-binding proteins. Employing MudPIT we analyzed the human sperm membrane proteome and identified 222 integral membrane proteins including 57 GPCRs, 35 of which were chemoreceptors. Both proteomic strategies afford a powerful means whereby novel protein candidates can be elucidated and thereby provide greater insight into plasticity of the olfactory receptor, its associated proteins, and the role of olfactory receptors in reproduction.