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Genetic and functional odorant receptor variation in the Homo lineage

Claire A. de March, Hiroaki Matsunami, Masashi Abe, Matthew Cobb, View ORCID ProfileKara C. Hoover
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.13.460146
Claire A. de March
1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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  • For correspondence: kchoover@alaska.edu claire.de.march@duke.edu
Hiroaki Matsunami
1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
2Department of Neurobiology, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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Masashi Abe
1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
3Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan
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Matthew Cobb
4Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, USA
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Kara C. Hoover
5Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks Alaska, 99775, USA
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  • ORCID record for Kara C. Hoover
  • For correspondence: kchoover@alaska.edu claire.de.march@duke.edu
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Abstract

Using ancient DNA sequences, we explored the function of olfactory receptor genes in the genus Homo. Humans, Neandertals, and Denisovans independently adapted to a wide range of geographic environments and the odours produced by their food. Variations in their odorant receptor protein sequence and structure resulted in variation in detection and perception. Studying thirty olfactory receptor genes, we found our relatives showed highly conserved receptor structures, but Homo sapiens did not. Variants led to changes in sensitivity to some odors, but no change in specificity, indicating a common olfactory repertoire in our genus. Diversity of geographic adaptations in H. sapiens may have produced greater functional variation in our lineage, increasing our olfactory repertoire and expanding our adaptive capacity.

One-Sentence Summary Using ancient DNA we studied the sense of smell in our extinct ancestors and in our relatives, Denisovans and Neanderthals

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • This version has a revised Fst table and the data that underlie that calculation. There were some minor edits to text following Fst revision and first review process.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted October 27, 2021.
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Genetic and functional odorant receptor variation in the Homo lineage
Claire A. de March, Hiroaki Matsunami, Masashi Abe, Matthew Cobb, Kara C. Hoover
bioRxiv 2021.09.13.460146; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.13.460146
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Genetic and functional odorant receptor variation in the Homo lineage
Claire A. de March, Hiroaki Matsunami, Masashi Abe, Matthew Cobb, Kara C. Hoover
bioRxiv 2021.09.13.460146; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.13.460146

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