Genetic evidence of pheromones

The first evidence of the existence of pheromones has been found by scientists. The sex chemicals are said to form part of an inbuilt communication system between men and women, but so far, isolating the elusive chemicals has proved impossible. Published in the journal Nature Genetics, the study was based on a direct comparison of approximately one hundred mouse pheromone genes with the DNA codes being revealed by the Human Genome Project.

Eight genes were identified initially as potentially corresponding to the mouse genes. Now, the team of geneticists and neuroscientists has now identified a single human gene called V1RL1 that they believe is similar to the genes already proved to be present in rodents, and which act as pheromone detectors. In humans, the gene has been found to be active in the nose, seemingly confirming circumstantial evidence that human pheromones are present in sweat.

The team of scientists, based at the Rockefeller University in New York, and led by Peter Mombaerts, believes that the gene makes a protein within the nasal cavity which then acts as a receptor molecule for pheromones. They say that within the human genome, there is 'at least one gene that encodes a candidate pheromone receptor'. By finding the human gene responsible for receptors of pheromones, the scientists hope that the pheromone chemicals themselves will one day be identifiable.