Evidence for a shape-based recognition of odorants \(\textit {in vivo}\) in the human nose from an analysis of the molecular mechanism of lily-of-the-valley odorants detection in the Lilial and Bourgeonal family using the C/Si/Ge/Sn switch strategy

  • We performed an analysis of possible mechanisms of ligand recognition in the human nose. The analysis is based on \(\textit {in vivo}\) odor threshold determination and \(\textit {in vitro}\) \(Ca^{2+}\) imaging assays with a C/Si/Ge/Sn switch strategy applied to the compounds Lilial and Bourgeonal, to differentiate between different molecular mechanisms of odorant detection. Our results suggest that odorant detection under threshold conditions is mainly based on the molecular shape, i.e. the van der Waals surface, and electrostatics of the odorants. Furthermore, we show that a single olfactory receptor type is responsible for odor detection of Bourgeonal at the threshold level in humans \(\textit {in vivo}\). Carrying out a QM analysis of vibrational energies contained in the odorants, there is no evidence for a vibration-based recognition.

Download full text files

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar
Metadaten
Author:Steffen WolfGND, Lian GelisGND, Steffen DörrichGND, Hanns HattGND, Philip KraftGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:294-73643
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182147
Parent Title (English):PLoS ONE
Publisher:Public Library of Science
Place of publication:San Francisco
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2020/07/22
Date of first Publication:2017/08/01
Publishing Institution:Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsbibliothek
Volume:12
Issue:8, Artikel e0182147
First Page:e0182147-1
Last Page:e0182147-22
Institutes/Facilities:Lehrstuhl für Biophysik
open_access (DINI-Set):open_access
Licence (English):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY 4.0 - Attribution 4.0 International