Comparative transcriptomic analysis of the Drosophila melanogaster antennal olfactory subsystems.

We identified genes whose expression is enriched in the D. melanogaster antennal olfactory subsystems that express Odorant receptors (Ors) or Ionotropic receptors (Irs) by microarray analysis of RNA extracted from antennae of wild-type (Oregon R P2) animals, ato mutants (which lack the Ir subsystem) and amos mutants (which lack the Or subsystem). Three biological replicates were analysed for each of the three genotypes: Oregon R P2, ato/Df(3R)p13 and amos. The mutant lines were back-crossed five times with Oregon R P2 prior to the experiment to isogenize the genetic background.