For example, higher primates equipped with a well-developed vision system have lost a large number of OR genes. It appears that OR gene repertoires change dynamically, depending on each organism's living environment. Extensive phylogenetic analyses have suggested that the numbers of gene gains and losses are extremely large in the OR gene family, which is a striking example of the birth-and-death evolution. Most species have a considerable fraction of pseudogenes. Identification of the entire repertories of OR genes using bioinformatics methods from the whole-genome sequences of diverse organisms revealed that the numbers of OR genes vary enormously, ranging from ~1,200 in rats and ~400 in humans to ~150 in zebrafish and ~15 in pufferfish. Versatile odour molecules in the environment are received by olfactory receptors (ORs), which form the largest multigene family in vertebrates. Olfaction is essential for the survival of animals.
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