Zebrafish olfactory receptor ORA1 recognizes a putative reproductive pheromone

Teleost v1r-related ora genes constitute a small and highly conserved olfactory receptor gene family, and their direct orthologs are present in lineages as distant as cartilaginous fishes. Recently, the first member of the ora gene family was deorphanized. ORA1 detects p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid with high sensitivity and specificity. This compound elicits olfactory-mediated oviposition behavior in adult zebrafish mating pairs, suggesting a potential function as a reproductive pheromone for pHPAA itself or a related substance. This association of an odor and its cognate receptor with an oviposition response may provide a molecular basis for studying neural circuits involved in fish reproduction.