First detection of olfactory marker protein (OMP) immunoreactivity in the olfactory epithelium of a cartilaginous fish.

Olfactory marker protein (OMP) is a protein expressed in the mature olfactory and vomeronasal neurons of many vertebrates, such as mammals, amphibians and bony fishes. Aim of this work was to investigate the OMP expression in the olfactory epithelium of the shark Scyliorhinus canicula (Linnaeus, 1758), by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Immunoreactivity was detected in the olfactory receptor neurons, in the crypt neurons and in the nerve fibers below the epithelium. Although very little is known about the OMP's function, its involvement in synaptogenesis, transduction cascade, neurogenesis and development of olfactory system has been suggested. The present work shows for the first time OMP's presence in a cartilaginous fish.