OR6A2

Olfactory receptor 6A2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the OR6A2 gene.^[5] It is Class II (tetrapod-specific) olfactory receptor and a rhodopsin-like receptor.

OR6A2
Identifiers
Aliases	OR6A2, I7, OR11-55, OR6A1, OR6A2P, olfactory receptor family 6 subfamily A member 2
External IDs	OMIM: 608495; MGI: 97432; HomoloGene: 2743; GeneCards: OR6A2; OMA:OR6A2 - orthologs
Gene location (Human) Chr. Chromosome 11 (human)[1] Band 11p15.4 Start 6,791,736 bp[1] End 6,799,689 bp[1]
Gene location (Mouse) Chr. Chromosome 7 (mouse)[2] Band 7|7 E3 Start 106,594,606 bp[2] End 106,605,279 bp[2]
RNA expression pattern Bgee Human Mouse (ortholog) Top expressed in testicle Top expressed in Jacobson's organ secondary oocyte yolk sac peripheral nervous system gastrula vastus lateralis muscle subdivision of respiratory system respiratory epithelium nasal epithelium olfactory epithelium More reference expression data BioGPS More reference expression data
Gene ontology Molecular function G protein-coupled receptor activity olfactory receptor activity signal transducer activity Cellular component integral component of membrane plasma membrane membrane Biological process sensory perception of smell signal transduction response to stimulus detection of chemical stimulus involved in sensory perception of smell G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs Species Human Mouse Entrez 8590 18317 Ensembl ENSG00000184933 ENSMUSG00000070417 UniProt O95222 n/a RefSeq (mRNA) NM_003696 NM_010983 RefSeq (protein) NP_003687 n/a Location (UCSC) Chr 11: 6.79 – 6.8 Mb Chr 7: 106.59 – 106.61 Mb PubMed search [3] [4]
Wikidata
View/Edit Human View/Edit Mouse

Function

Olfactory receptors interact with odorant molecules in the nose, to initiate a neuronal response that triggers the perception of a smell. The olfactory receptor proteins are members of a large family of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) arising from single coding-exon genes. Olfactory receptors share a 7-transmembrane domain structure with many neurotransmitters and hormone receptors and are responsible for the recognition and G protein-mediated transduction of odorant signals.^[5]

Clinical significance

Variation in the OR6A2 gene has been identified as a likely cause of why some people enjoy the smell and taste of coriander (also known as cilantro) while others are extremely repulsed by it.^[6] Depending on ancestry, between 3% and 21% of the population report disliking coriander: 21% for East Asians, 17% for Caucasians, 14% for those of African descent, 7% for South Asians, 4% for Hispanics, and 3% for Middle Eastern subjects.^[7] Some associate it with an intensely unpleasant taste, including a combination of soap and vomit, or say that it is similar to the foul smelling odor emitted by stinkbugs. This is suggested to be due to the presence of aldehyde chemicals,^[8] which may be present in soap, various detergents, coriander, and several species of stinkbugs.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Olfactory receptor

References

1. GRCh38: Ensembl release 89: ENSG00000184933 – Ensembl, May 2017
2. GRCm38: Ensembl release 89: ENSMUSG00000070417 – Ensembl, May 2017
3. "Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
4. "Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
5. "Entrez Gene: OR6A2 olfactory receptor, family 6, subfamily A, member 2".
6. Eriksson N, Wu S, Chuong BD, Kiefer AK, Tuing JY, Mountain JL, et al. (29 November 2012). "A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference". Flavour. 1. arXiv:1209.2096. doi:10.1186/2044-7248-1-22. S2CID 199627.
7. Mauer L, El-Sohemy A (2012-05-02). "Prevalence of cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) disliking among different ethnocultural groups". Flavour. 1 (1): 8. doi:10.1186/2044-7248-1-8. ISSN 2044-7248.
8. Callaway E (September 2012). "Soapy taste of coriander linked to genetic variants". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.11398. S2CID 87980895.

Further reading

• Buettner JA, Glusman G, Ben-Arie N, Ramos P, Lancet D, Evans GA (October 1998). "Organization and evolution of olfactory receptor genes on human chromosome 11". Genomics. 53 (1): 56–68. doi:10.1006/geno.1998.5422. PMID 9787077.
• Lane RP, Cutforth T, Young J, Athanasiou M, Friedman C, Rowen L, et al. (June 2001). "Genomic analysis of orthologous mouse and human olfactory receptor loci". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 98 (13): 7390–7395. Bibcode:2001PNAS...98.7390L. doi:10.1073/pnas.131215398. PMC 34679. PMID 11416212.
• Malnic B, Godfrey PA, Buck LB (February 2004). "The human olfactory receptor gene family". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 101 (8): 2584–2589. Bibcode:2004PNAS..101.2584M. doi:10.1073/pnas.0307882100. PMC 356993. PMID 14983052.

External links

• OR6A2+protein,+human at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.