Genomic drift and copy number variation of sensory receptor genes in humans.

ABSTRACT: The number of sensory receptor genes varies extensively among different mammalian species. This variation is believed to be caused partly by physiological requirements of animals and partly by genomic drift due to random duplication and deletion of genes. If the contribution of genomic drift is substantial, each species should contain a significant amount of copy number variation (CNV). We therefore investigated CNVs in sensory receptor genes among 270 healthy humans by using published CNV data. The results indicated that olfactory receptor (OR), taste receptor type 2, and vomeronasal receptor type 1 genes show a high level of intraspecific CNVs. In particular, >30% of the approximately 800 OR gene loci in humans were polymorphic with respect to copy number, and two randomly chosen individ

SUBMITTER: Nozawa M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2154446 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature