Association study of human VN1R1 pheromone receptor gene alleles and gender

Pheromones are water-soluble chemicals that elicit neuroendocrine and physiological changes, while they also provide information about gender within individuals of the same species. VN1R1 is the only functional pheromone receptor in humans. We have undertaken a large mutation screening approach in 425 adult individuals from the Hellenic population to investigate whether the allelic differences, namely alleles 1a and 1b present in the human VN1R1 gene, are gender specific. Here we show that both VN1R1 1a and 1b alleles are found in chromosomes of both male and female subjects at frequency of 26.35% and 73.65%, respectively. Given the fact that those allelic differences potentially cause minor changes in the protein conformation and its transmembrane domains, as simulated by the TMHMM software, our data suggest that the allelic differences in the human VN1R1 gene are unlikely to be associated with gender and hence to contribute to distinct gender-specific behavior.