OR6A2 explained

Olfactory receptor 6A2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the OR6A2 gene.^[1] It is Class II (tetrapod-specific) olfactory receptor and a rhodopsin-like receptor.

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.

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)^[2] while others have exactly the opposite reaction to the point of repulsion. Depending on ancestry, somewhere between 3% and 21% of the population associate it with 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 due to the presence of aldehyde chemicals,^[3] which are present in soap, various detergents, coriander, and several species of stinkbugs.

See also

• Olfactory receptor

Further reading

• Buettner JA . Organization and evolution of olfactory receptor genes on human chromosome 11 . Genomics . 53 . 1 . 56–68 . 1998 . 9787077 . 10.1006/geno.1998.5422 . vanc. Glusman G . Ben-Arie N . 3 . Ramos . Purita . Lancet . Doron . Evans . Glen A. .
• Lane RP . Genomic analysis of orthologous mouse and human olfactory receptor loci . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. . 98 . 13 . 7390–5 . 2001 . 11416212 . 10.1073/pnas.131215398 . 34679 . vanc. Cutforth T . Young J . 3 . Athanasiou . M . Friedman . C . Rowen . L . Evans . G . Axel . R . Hood . L . 2001PNAS...98.7390L . free .
• Strausberg RL . Generation and initial analysis of more than 15,000 full-length human and mouse cDNA sequences . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. . 99 . 26 . 16899–903 . 2003 . 12477932 . 10.1073/pnas.242603899 . 139241 . vanc. Feingold EA . Grouse LH . 3 . Derge . JG . Klausner . RD . Collins . FS . Wagner . L . Shenmen . CM . Schuler . GD . 2002PNAS...9916899M . free .
• Malnic B, Godfrey PA, Buck LB . The human olfactory receptor gene family . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. . 101 . 8 . 2584–9 . 2004 . 14983052 . 10.1073/pnas.0307882100 . 356993 . 2004PNAS..101.2584M . free .
• Gerhard DS . The Status, Quality, and Expansion of the NIH Full-Length cDNA Project: The Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC) . Genome Res. . 14 . 10B . 2121–7 . 2004 . 15489334 . 10.1101/gr.2596504 . 528928 . vanc. Wagner L . Feingold EA . 3 . Shenmen . CM . Grouse . LH . Schuler . G . Klein . SL . Old . S . Rasooly . R .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Entrez Gene: OR6A2 olfactory receptor, family 6, subfamily A, member 2.
2. Eriksson N . A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference . Flavour . 29 November 2012 . 10.1186/2044-7248-1-22 . Wu S . Chuong BD . 3 . Kiefer AK . Tuing JY . Mountain JL . Hinds DA . Francke U. . 1 . 1209.2096. 199627 . free .
3. Callaway E . Soapy taste of coriander linked to genetic variants . Nature . September 2012 . 10.1038/nature.2012.11398 . 87980895 .