A novel multigene family may encode odorant receptors: a molecular basis for odor recognition.
The mammalian olfactory system can recognize and discriminate a large number of different odorant molecules. The detection of chemically distinct odorants presumably results from the association of odorous ligands with specific receptors on olfactory sensory neurons. To address the problem of olfactory perception at a molecular level, we have cloned and characterized 18 different members of an extremely large multigene family that encodes seven transmembrane domain proteins whose expression is restricted to the olfactory epithelium. The members of this novel gene family are likely to encode a diverse family of odorant receptors.
Buck
L
L
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032.
Axel
R
R
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004247:DNA; D015870:Gene Expression; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009833:Olfactory Pathways; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011487:Protein Conformation; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000235:genetics*
D008565:Membrane Proteins; D004247:DNA