The olfactory receptor gene repertoire in primates and mouse: Evidence for reduction of the functional fraction in primates

Rouquier, Sylvie; Blancher, Antoine; Giorgi, Dominique

doi:10.1073/pnas.040580197

Cited by 236 publications

(190 citation statements)

References 31 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…As a result, apes and Old World monkeys have many fewer OR pseudogenes than humans. Nonetheless, the proportion of OR pseudogenes in these nonhuman primates is still significantly higher than those of dog or mouse (Rouquier et al 2000;Gilad et al 2003b). Taken together, the data suggest that a deterioration of the olfactory repertoire occurred during primate evolution, with a particularly steep decline in the human lineage.…”

supporting

confidence: 52%

A comparison of the human and chimpanzee olfactory receptor gene repertoires

Gilad¹,

Man²,

Glusman³

2005

Genome Res.

125

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Olfactory receptor (OR) genes constitute the basis of the sense of smell and are encoded by the largest mammalian gene superfamily, with >1000 members. In humans, but not in mice or dogs, the majority of OR genes have become pseudogenes, suggesting that OR genes in humans evolve under different selection pressures than in other mammals. To explore this further, we compare the OR gene repertoire of human with its closest living evolutionary relative, by taking advantage of the recently sequenced genome of the chimpanzee. In agreement with previous reports based on a small number of ORs, we find that humans have a significantly higher proportion of OR pseudogenes than chimpanzees. Moreover, we can reject the possibility that humans have been accumulating OR pseudogenes at a constant neutral rate since the divergence of human and chimpanzee. The comparison of the two repertoires reveals two chimpanzee-specific OR subfamily expansions and three expansions specific to humans. It also suggests that a subset of OR genes are under positive selection in either the human or the chimpanzee lineage. Thus, although overall there is relaxed constraint on human olfaction relative to chimpanzee, species-specific sensory requirements appear to have shaped the evolution of the functional OR gene repertoires in both species.

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supporting

confidence: 52%

A comparison of the human and chimpanzee olfactory receptor gene repertoires

Gilad¹,

Man²,

Glusman³

2005

Genome Res.

125

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“…As a result, haplorhines have generally been characterized as lacking well-developed olfactory abilities. However, recent comparative studies of the MOS suggest that platyrrhines resemble strepsirrhines and many other mammals in retaining a large proportion of functional ORP genes (92)(93)(94). Because the olfactory bulb is primarily a relay between MOS receptors in the nasal fossa and olfactory centers in the brain, the small size of the platyrrhine olfactory bulb probably reflects a decrease in the total number of MOS receptor cells rather than a decrease in the number of distinct ORP types.…”

Section: Adaptations In Anthropoideamentioning

confidence: 99%

New perspectives on anthropoid origins

Williams

Kay

Kirk

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

113

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Adaptive shifts associated with human origins are brought to light as we examine the human fossil record and study our own genome and that of our closest ape relatives. However, the more ancient roots of many human characteristics are revealed through the study of a broader array of living anthropoids and the increasingly dense fossil record of the earliest anthropoid radiations. Genomic data and fossils of early primates in Asia and Africa clarify relationships among the major clades of primates. Progress in comparative anatomy, genomics, and molecular biology point to key changes in sensory ecology and brain organization that ultimately set the stage for the emergence of the human lineage.primate | Haplorhini | Strepsirrhini | human evolution | phylogeny

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“…Furthermore, even the apes and the Old World monkey comparisons may have not been accurate, because the use of degenerate primers may have biased the results. Indeed, Rouquier et al (10) report zero pseudogenes in mouse and 70% pseudogenes in humans (where they looked at 99 ORs). These values are significantly different from the true values obtained once the entire OR gene repertoire was reported for these species (20% and 58%, respectively).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although three to five of these 14 OR loci were found to carry coding region disruptions in one or more ape species, all 14 OR genes were inferred to be intact in the common ancestor of all apes (9). A different study (10) used OR degenerate primers to examine the OR gene repertoire in different mammals. On the basis of a small number of genes in non-human primates (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23), Rouquier et al (10) concluded that humans and apes have significantly more pseudogenes than Old World monkeys.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Human specific loss of olfactory receptor genes

Gilad

Man

Pääbo

et al. 2003

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

241

153

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Olfactory receptor (OR) genes constitute the basis for the sense of smell and are encoded by the largest mammalian gene superfamily of >1,000 genes. In humans, >60% of these are pseudogenes. In contrast, the mouse OR repertoire, although of roughly equal size, contains only Ϸ20% pseudogenes. We asked whether the high fraction of nonfunctional OR genes is specific to humans or is a common feature of all primates. To this end, we have compared the sequences of 50 human OR coding regions, regardless of their functional annotations, to those of their putative orthologs in chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and rhesus macaques. We found that humans have accumulated mutations that disrupt OR coding regions roughly 4-fold faster than any other species sampled. As a consequence, the fraction of OR pseudogenes in humans is almost twice as high as in the non-human primates, suggesting a human-specific process of OR gene disruption, likely due to a reduced chemosensory dependence relative to apes.

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The olfactory receptor gene repertoire in primates and mouse: Evidence for reduction of the functional fraction in primates

Abstract: olfaction ͉ pseudogenes ͉ evolution

Cited by 236 publications

References 31 publications

A comparison of the human and chimpanzee olfactory receptor gene repertoires

A comparison of the human and chimpanzee olfactory receptor gene repertoires

New perspectives on anthropoid origins

Human specific loss of olfactory receptor genes

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