Chem. Senses 27: 529-537,
2002
© Oxford University Press 2002
Identification of V1R-like Putative Pheromone Receptor Sequences in Non-human Primates. Characterization of V1R Pseudogenes in Marmoset, a Primate Species that Possesses an Intact Vomeronasal Organ
IGH, CNRS UPR 1142, Montpellier, France
Correspondence to be sent to: Sylvie Rouquier, IGH, CNRS UPR 1142, rue de la Cardonille, 34396 Montpellier cédex 5, France. e-mail: rouquier{at}igh.cnrs.fr
The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is responsible in terrestrial vertebrates for the sensory perception of some pheromones, chemicals that elicit characteristic behaviors among individuals of the same species. Two multigene families (V1R, V2R) that encode proteins with seven putative transmembrane domains that are expressed selectively in different neuron subsets of the VNO have been described in rodents. Pheromone-induced behaviors and a functional VNO have been described in a number of mammals, but this sensory organ seems absent in adult catarrhines and apes, including humans. Until now, only pseudogenes have been isolated in humans, except one putative V1R (hV1RL1) sequence expressed in the main olfactory epithelium. We sought to isolate V1R-like genes in a New World monkey species, the marmoset Callithrix jacchus, that possesses an intact VNO and for which pheromone-induced behavior has been well documented. Using library screening approaches, we have identified five different sequences that exhibit characteristic features of V1R sequences, but that are non-functional pseudogenes. In an attempt to sort out functional V1R genes, we next cloned by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) the primate orthologues of hV1RL1. This approach was successful for gorilla, chimpanzee and orangutan, but not for the other species, including marmoset, probably because these species are too divergent from humans. Chimpanzee and orangutan V1RL1 genes are pseudogenes, whereas the gorilla counterpart is potentially functional. These observations raise the possibility that the V1R family has evolved in such a manner in mammals that every species that relies on a VNO-mediated sensory function possesses its own set of functional vomeronasal genes.
Sequence data from this article have been deposited with the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank Data Libraries under accession Nos AF397897-AF397901 and AF426106-AF426108
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  W. E. Grus, P. Shi, Y.-p. Zhang, and J. Zhang Dramatic variation of the vomeronasal pheromone receptor gene repertoire among five orders of placental and marsupial mammals PNAS, April 19, 2005; 102(16): 5767 - 5772. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Pfister and I. Rodriguez Olfactory expression of a single and highly variable V1r pheromone receptor-like gene in fish species PNAS, April 12, 2005; 102(15): 5489 - 5494. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. M. Young, M. Kambere, B. J. Trask, and R. P. Lane Divergent V1R repertoires in five species: Amplification in rodents, decimation in primates, and a surprisingly small repertoire in dogs Genome Res., February 1, 2005; 15(2): 231 - 240. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 N. I. Mundy and S. Cook Positive Selection During the Diversification of Class I Vomeronasal Receptor-like (V1RL) Genes, Putative Pheromone Receptor Genes, in Human and Primate Evolution Mol. Biol. Evol., November 1, 2003; 20(11): 1805 - 1810. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Zhang and D. M. Webb Evolutionary deterioration of the vomeronasal pheromone transduction pathway in catarrhine primates PNAS, July 8, 2003; 100(14): 8337 - 8341. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. R. Liman and H. Innan Relaxed selective pressure on an essential component of pheromone transduction in primate evolution PNAS, March 18, 2003; 100(6): 3328 - 3332. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|