ORDB, HORDE, ODORactor and other on-line knowledge resources of olfactory receptor-odorant interactions.

Luis Marenco,Xinyi Liu,Chiquito Crasto,Tsviya Olender,Jian Zhang,Robert Mcdougal,Gordon Shepherd,Elspeth Bruford,Michal Twik,Doron Lancet,Rixin Wang

doi:10.1093/database/baw132

Abstract

We present here an exploration of the evolution of three well-established, web-based resources dedicated to the dissemination of information related to olfactory receptors (ORs) and their functional ligands, odorants. These resources are: the Olfactory Receptor Database (ORDB), the Human Olfactory Data Explorer (HORDE) and ODORactor. ORDB is a repository of genomic and proteomic information related to ORs and other chemosensory receptors, such as taste and pheromone receptors. Three companion databases closely integrated with ORDB are OdorDB, ORModelDB and OdorMapDB; these resources are part of the SenseLab suite of databases (http://senselab.med.yale.edu). HORDE (http://genome.weizmann.ac.il/horde/) is a semi-automatically populated database of the OR repertoires of human and several mammals. ODORactor (http://mdl.shsmu.edu.cn/ODORactor/) provides information related to OR-odorant interactions from the perspective of the odorant. All three resources are connected to each other via web-links.Database URL: http://senselab.med.yale.edu; http://genome.weizmann.ac.il/horde/; http://mdl.shsmu.edu.cn/ODORactor/

Highlights

Olfactory receptors (ORs) play a crucial role in the perception of olfaction
An OR interacts with an odorant from the external environment. This interaction catalyses the sequence of events that culminate in the olfactory processing region of the brain—and, possibly, beyond— leading to the perception of smell
Olfactory Receptor Database (ORDB) represents the field of chemoreception from the perspective of the receptors

Summary

Introduction

Olfactory receptors (ORs) play a crucial role in the perception of olfaction. An OR interacts with an odorant (or a complex combination of odorants—that represents an odor) from the external environment. This feature is invoked by clicking on the ‘Search’ link in any of the databases; the link for the search in ORDB is https://senselab.med.yale.edu/ORDB/ Search Developing this feature became necessary when ORDB entries increased more than 10-fold after receptor repertoires from genome-wide sequence analyses of ORs (referred to earlier) became available. All the interactions between three compounds and the top five corresponding receptors identified via the ODORactor were confirmed from the results of experimental studies, and seven ORs among the predicted candidates were validated to bind the compounds This predictor is an effective way to decipher olfactory coding and could be a useful server tool for both basic olfactory research in academia and odorant discovery in industry. Step by step instructions on how to use Odoractor can be accessed at: http://mdl.shsmu.edu.cn/ ODORactor/module/mainpage/help.jsp#example0

Findings

Discussion

Conclusions