Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Liman ER
PROVIDER: S-EPMC152292 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Liman Emily R ER Innan Hideki H
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20030311 6
The vomeronasal organ (VNO) detects pheromones in many vertebrate species but is likely to be vestigial in humans. TRPC2(TRP2), a gene that is essential for VNO function in the mouse, is a pseudogene in humans. Because TRPC2 is expressed only in the VNO, the loss of selective pressure on this gene can serve as a molecular marker for the time at which the VNO became vestigial. By analyzing sequence data from the TRPC2 gene of 15 extant primate species, we provide evidence that the VNO was most li ...[more]