Comparative evolutionary analysis on the olfactory and other chemosensory receptor gene families using whole genome sequences

环境中的气味分子是由嗅觉感受器(ORs)检测的。脊椎动物基因组中含有大量的OR基因，反映了气味物质的多样性。在这项研究中，我研究了嗅觉能力退化(OR基因数量减少)和色觉发育(三色视觉习得)之间的关系。因此，与之前的观点相反，我证明了它们之间没有直接联系。此外，我还研究了不同生物的基因组序列，包括文昌鱼，这是一种基本的脊索动物物种(脊椎动物的近亲)。然后，我揭示了OR基因家族的起源和早期进化。

Odor molecules in the environment are detected by olfactory receptors (ORs). Reflecting the diversity of odorants, vertebrate genomes harbor numerous OR genes. In this study, I have examined the relationships between degeneration of olfactory ability (decrease in the number of OR genes) and development of color vision (acquisition of trichromatic vision). As a result, contrary to the previous view, I showed that there are no direct links between them. Moreover, I investigated genome sequences from diverse organisms including amphioxus, which is a basal chordate species (relatives of vertebrates). I then revealed the origin and the early evolution of OR gene families.