IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nature/v449y2007i7161d10.1038_nature06162.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Genetic variation in a human odorant receptor alters odour perception

Author

Listed:
  • Andreas Keller

    (Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behaviour, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA)

  • Hanyi Zhuang

    (and)

  • Qiuyi Chi

    (and)

  • Leslie B. Vosshall

    (Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behaviour, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA)

  • Hiroaki Matsunami

    (and
    Duke University Medical Centre, Research Drive, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA)

Abstract

The scent of androstenone In humans, there is considerable variation between individuals in both their sensitivity to certain smells and their subjective experience of them. A new study is the first to show that genetic variation in a single human odorant receptor correlates with perceptual variation. OR7D4, an odorant receptor, is selectively activated in vitro by androstenone, a testosterone metabolite thought by some to be a candidate human pheromone. Variations in the gene encoding OR7D4 affected how the subjects thought the androstenone smelt — some found it pleasant, others offensive, to others it was odourless — and also how intense that smell was.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Keller & Hanyi Zhuang & Qiuyi Chi & Leslie B. Vosshall & Hiroaki Matsunami, 2007. "Genetic variation in a human odorant receptor alters odour perception," Nature, Nature, vol. 449(7161), pages 468-472, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:449:y:2007:i:7161:d:10.1038_nature06162
    DOI: 10.1038/nature06162
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature06162
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/nature06162?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Priya Date & Hany K M Dweck & Marcus C Stensmyr & Jodi Shann & Bill S Hansson & Stephanie M Rollmann, 2013. "Divergence in Olfactory Host Plant Preference in D. mojavensis in Response to Cactus Host Use," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(7), pages 1-10, July.
    2. Kobi Snitz & Adi Yablonka & Tali Weiss & Idan Frumin & Rehan M Khan & Noam Sobel, 2013. "Predicting Odor Perceptual Similarity from Odor Structure," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(9), pages 1-12, September.
    3. Yohei Tatsukami & Hironobu Morisaka & Shunsuke Aburaya & Wataru Aoki & Chihiro Kohsaka & Masafumi Tani & Kiyoo Hirooka & Yoshihiro Yamamoto & Atsushi Kitaoka & Hisashi Fujiwara & Yoshinori Wakai & Mit, 2018. "Metabolite profiling of the fermentation process of "yamahai-ginjo-shikomi" Japanese sake," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:449:y:2007:i:7161:d:10.1038_nature06162. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.