Intrinsic Diversity in Odor-Evoked Calcium Rises across <i>Drosophila</i> Olfactory Neurons

Abstract

Across species, olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) exhibit stimulus-driven changes in gene expression, with calcium as a key activity signal. However, it remains unclear whether neuronal activity elevates intracellular calcium with differential gain across ORN types, which could then disparately influence a neuron’s propensity for activity-dependent modulation. To address this possibility, we combined simultaneous electrophysiology and calcium imaging to systematically map odor-evoked calcium gain across the majority of characterized Drosophila ORN types of either sex. Despite comparable spike rates, calcium signals can differ by more than 10-fold. Within each ORN, calcium scaled linearly with spiking, yet the slope varied markedly across neuron types. Mechanistically, calcium gain was intrinsic to ORN type, independent of receptor identity, and differentially regulated in distinct ORNs by internal calcium store and voltage-dependent calcium entry. These findings reveal striking heterogeneity in odor-evoked calcium gain, with implications for how individual ORNs interpret odor activation to differentially engage activity-dependent processes and plasticity.