Key food odorants (KFOs) are the most relevant determinants of food aroma, which are detected by our chemical sense of olfaction, comprising ~400 odorant receptors (ORs). This thesis demonstrates KFO-coding at the receptor level by testing all ORs in a cell-based luminescence assay, and clarifies the receptive ranges of two ORs. Furthermore, amino acids responsible for an enantioselective odorant binding were identified within receptor OR1A1. Elucidating structure-function relations of ORs and structure-activity relations of KFOs at the receptor level is a prerequisite for an understanding of mechanisms underlying e.g. specific anosmias.
«
Key food odorants (KFOs) are the most relevant determinants of food aroma, which are detected by our chemical sense of olfaction, comprising ~400 odorant receptors (ORs). This thesis demonstrates KFO-coding at the receptor level by testing all ORs in a cell-based luminescence assay, and clarifies the receptive ranges of two ORs. Furthermore, amino acids responsible for an enantioselective odorant binding were identified within receptor OR1A1. Elucidating structure-function relations of ORs and s...
»