TY  - JOUR
A1  - Behrens, Maik
A1  - Frank, Oliver
A1  - Rawel, Harshadrai Manilal
A1  - Ahuja, Gaurav
A1  - Potting, Christoph
A1  - Hofmann, Thomas
A1  - Meyerhof, Wolfgang
A1  - Korsching, Sigrun
T1  - ORA1, a Zebrafish Olfactory Receptor Ancestral to All Mammalian V1R Genes, Recognizes 4-Hydroxyphenylacetic Acid, a Putative Reproductive Pheromone
JF  - The journal of biological chemistry
N2  - The teleost v1r-related ora genes are a small, highly conserved olfactory receptor gene family of only six genes, whose direct orthologues can be identified in lineages as far as that of cartilaginous fish. However, no ligands for fish olfactory receptor class A related genes (ORA) had been uncovered so far. Here we have deorphanized the ORA1 receptor using heterologous expression and calcium imaging. We report that zebrafish ORA1 recognizes with high specificity and sensitivity 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid. The carboxyl group of this compound is required in a particular distance from the aromatic ring, whereas the hydroxyl group in the para-position is not essential, but strongly enhances the binding efficacy. Low concentrations of 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid elicit increases in oviposition frequency in zebrafish mating pairs. This effect is abolished by naris closure. We hypothesize that 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid might function as a pheromone for reproductive behavior in zebrafish. ORA1 is ancestral to mammalian V1Rs, and its putative function as pheromone receptor is reminiscent of the role of several mammalian V1Rs as pheromone receptors.
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M114.573162
SN  - 0021-9258
SN  - 1083-351X
VL  - 289
IS  - 28
SP  - 19778
EP  - 19788
PB  - American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
CY  - Bethesda
ER  -