Evolution of olfactory receptor genes in primates dominated by birth-and-death process.

ABSTRACT: Olfactory receptor (OR) is a large family of G protein-coupled receptors that can detect odorant in order to generate the sense of smell. They constitute one of the largest multiple gene families in animals including primates. To better understand the variation in odor perception and evolution of OR genes among primates, we computationally identified OR gene repertoires in orangutans, marmosets, and mouse lemurs and investigated the birth-and-death process of OR genes in the primate lineage. The results showed that 1) all the primate species studied have no more than 400 intact OR genes, fewer than rodents and canine; 2) Despite the similar number of OR genes in the genome, the makeup of the OR gene repertoires between different primate species is quite different as they had undergone dram

SUBMITTER: Dong D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2817421 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature