Genetic and functional odorant receptor variation in the Homo lineage
Claire A. de March,
Hiroaki Matsunami,
Masashi Abe,
Matthew Cobb,
Kara C. Hoover
Affiliations
Claire A. de March
Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles, UPR2301 CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette 91190, France; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Corresponding author
Hiroaki Matsunami
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Masashi Abe
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan
Matthew Cobb
Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Kara C. Hoover
Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: Humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans independently adapted to a wide range of geographic environments and their associated food odors. Using ancient DNA sequences, we explored the in vitro function of thirty odorant receptor genes in the genus Homo. Our extinct relatives had highly conserved olfactory receptor sequence, but humans did not. Variations in odorant receptor protein sequence and structure may have produced variation in odor detection and perception. Variants led to minimal changes in specificity but had more influence on functional sensitivity. The few Neanderthal variants disturbed function, whereas Denisovan variants increased sensitivity to sweet and sulfur odors. Geographic adaptations may have produced greater functional variation in our lineage, increasing our olfactory repertoire and expanding our adaptive capacity. Our survey of olfactory genes and odorant receptors suggests that our genus has a shared repertoire with possible local ecological adaptations.
