Diversity of odorant receptors and Ric-8B and their implications for olfaction

• Grant number: 24/02568-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Bettina Malnic
• Grantee: Rafaella Gonçalves Naressi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/12481-2 - Molecular basis of neuronal diversity in olfaction and its functional implications, AP.TEM

Abstract

Humans have ~400 olfactory receptor genes, and thanks to them they are able to detect and discriminate thousands of odours. Although the number of ORs is very similar between different individuals, the sequences of human ORs are extremely variable in the population, which can cause differences in the way different individuals perceive odours. We plan to identify and analyse geographically restricted variants of ORs to deepen our understanding of how this large gene family acts to generate odour perception.In addition, it is known that olfactory dysfunctions serve as early markers of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. We will investigate whether there is a correlation between OR variants and neurodegenerative diseases.