CeBiTec Colloquium

 date 

Monday, May 2nd 2011, 17 c.t.

 location 

G2-104, CeBiTec Building

 speaker 

Dr. Andreas Natsch

Bioscience department, Givaudan Schweiz AG, Switzerland

title 

The biochemistry and molecular genetics of human body odor – enzymes in the skin microflora and host genes involved in odor release

  Glands in the axillary region make a key contribution to the human body odors, and this skin region has been termed the human ‘scent organ’. The odorants are secreted as precursors by the axillary glands, and are then released by the action of commensal Corynebacteria on the skin. The discovery and characterization of the three key odor-releasing enzymes enzymes will be reviewed.
In detailed recent studies, we investigated the genetic influence on the pattern of odor precursor secretion. A study on monozygotic human twins indicated a strong genetic influence, with twins sharing a common and stable pattern of precursors of odorant acids. In mice, patterns of carboxylic acids in urine appear to be influenced by genes of the Major Histocompatibility locus (MHC) and affect mating preferences. We thus studied this effect in humans, but could prove no influence of the HLA-loci on the specific odorant patterns. Finally and most intriguingly, a unique SNP in the human genome has risen to high frequency in the Far East in recent evolution. We could show that this SNP confers an odorless phenotype by abolishing the ability to secrete odor precursors – and we may call it sloppily the ‘Deo-gene’.

 host 

PD. Dr. Andreas Tauch