AUTHOR=Ortiz-Leal Irene , Torres Mateo V. , Vargas-Barroso Víctor , Fidalgo Luis Eusebio , López-Beceiro Ana María , Larriva-Sahd Jorge A. , Sánchez-Quinteiro Pablo 

TITLE=The olfactory limbus of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). New insights regarding a noncanonical olfactory bulb pathway

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroanatomy

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2022

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroanatomy/articles/10.3389/fnana.2022.1097467

DOI=10.3389/fnana.2022.1097467

ISSN=1662-5129

ABSTRACT=The mammalian olfactory system is divided into several subsystems based on the anatomical locations of the involved neuroreceptor cells and the receptor families that are expressed. In addition to the main olfactory system and the vomeronasal system, a range of olfactory subsystems converge onto the transition zone located between the main olfactory bulb (MOB) and the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), which has been named as olfactory limbus (OL) and contains specialized glomeruli that receive noncanonical sensory afferences and interact with the MOB and AOB. Beyond the laboratory rodents, little is known regarding the olfactory subsystems of other mammals. We have focused on characterizing the OL in the red fox by performing general and specific histological stainings on serial sections, using both single and double immunohistochemical and lectin-histochemical labeling techniques. As a result, we have been able to determine that the OL of the red fox displays an uncommonly high degree of development and complexity. This makes this species a novel mammalian model, the study of which could improve our understanding of the noncanonical pathways involved in the processing of chemosensory cues.