不同人對特定氣味的敏感性及他們對這些氣味的主觀體驗(yàn)都有很大差異。一項(xiàng)新的研究首次表明,,人體一個單一氣味受體中所發(fā)生的遺傳變異與人的感覺差異相關(guān),。OR7D4是一種氣味受體,,在體外可被Androstenone選擇性激發(fā),,后者是一種睪丸酮代謝物,被一些人認(rèn)為是一種催情藥,,稱作“佛洛蒙”,。編碼OR7D4的基因發(fā)生的變異會影響有這種變異的人是怎樣想Androstenone的氣味的——有些人認(rèn)為它很好聞,另一些人則認(rèn)為它很討厭,,還有一些人會發(fā)現(xiàn)它沒有氣味,,同時也會影響人對這種氣味的感覺。
英文原文:
Nature 449, 468-472 (27 September 2007) | doi:10.1038/nature06162; Received 20 June 2007; Accepted 8 August 2007; Published online 16 September 2007
Genetic variation in a human odorant receptor alters odour perception
Andreas Keller1,4, Hanyi Zhuang2,4, Qiuyi Chi2, Leslie B. Vosshall1 & Hiroaki Matsunami2,3
Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behaviour, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, and,
Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Centre, Research Drive, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Leslie B. Vosshall1Hiroaki Matsunami2,3 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to H.M. (Email: [email protected]) and L.B.V. (Email: [email protected]).
Human olfactory perception differs enormously between individuals, with large reported perceptual variations in the intensity and pleasantness of a given odour. For instance, androstenone (5-androst-16-en-3-one), an odorous steroid derived from testosterone, is variously perceived by different individuals as offensive ("sweaty, urinous"), pleasant ("sweet, floral") or odourless1, 2, 3. Similar variation in odour perception has been observed for several other odours4, 5, 6. The mechanistic basis of variation in odour perception between individuals is unknown. We investigated whether genetic variation in human odorant receptor genes accounts in part for variation in odour perception between individuals7, 8. Here we show that a human odorant receptor, OR7D4, is selectively activated in vitro by androstenone and the related odorous steroid androstadienone (androsta-4,16-dien-3-one) and does not respond to a panel of 64 other odours and two solvents. A common variant of this receptor (OR7D4 WM) contains two non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), resulting in two amino acid substitutions (R88W, T133M; hence 'RT') that severely impair function in vitro. Human subjects with RT/WM or WM/WM genotypes as a group were less sensitive to androstenone and androstadienone and found both odours less unpleasant than the RT/RT group. Genotypic variation in OR7D4 accounts for a significant proportion of the valence (pleasantness or unpleasantness) and intensity variance in perception of these steroidal odours. Our results demonstrate the first link between the function of a human odorant receptor in vitro and odour perception.