Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Jaeger, Sara R.
• McRae, Jeremy F.
• Bava, Christina M.
• Beresford, Michelle K.
• Hunter, Denise
• Jia, Yilin
• Chheang, Sok Leang
• Jin, David
• Peng, Mei
• Gamble, Joanna C.
• Atkinson, Kelly R.
• Axten, Lauren G.
• Paisley, Amy G.
• Tooman, Leah
• Pineau, Benedicte
• Rouse, Simon A.
• Newcomb, Richard D.

Titel

A Mendelian Trait for Olfactory Sensitivity Affects Odor Experience and Food Selection

Ist Teil von

• Current biology, 2013-08, Vol.23 (16), p.1601-1605

Ort / Verlag

England: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2013

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Humans vary in acuity to many odors [1–4], with variation within olfactory receptor (OR) genes contributing to these differences [5–9]. How such variation also affects odor experience and food selection remains uncertain [10], given that such effects occur for taste [11–15]. Here we investigate β-ionone, which shows extreme sensitivity differences [4, 16, 17]. β-ionone is a key aroma in foods and beverages [18–21] and is added to products in order to give a pleasant floral note [22, 23]. Genome-wide and in vitro assays demonstrate rs6591536 as the causal variant for β-ionone odor sensitivity. rs6591536 encodes a N183D substitution in the second extracellular loop of OR5A1 and explains >96% of the observed phenotypic variation, resembling a monogenic Mendelian trait. Individuals carrying genotypes for β-ionone sensitivity can more easily differentiate between food and beverage stimuli with and without added β-ionone. Sensitive individuals typically describe β-ionone in foods and beverages as “fragrant” and “floral,” whereas less-sensitive individuals describe these stimuli differently. rs6591536 genotype also influences emotional associations and explains differences in food and product choices. These studies demonstrate that an OR variant that influences olfactory sensitivity can affect how people experience and respond to foods, beverages, and other products. •A genetic variant, rs6591536, in OR5A1 determines sensitivity to β-ionone•rs6591536 alters β-ionone odor experience, both alone and in foods and beverages•rs6591536 affects acceptance and choice of food and products containing β-ionone