Taar4, a member of the trace amine-associated receptor (TAAR) family, is a G Protein-Coupled Receptor functioning as an olfactory receptor in vertebrates. It is involved in the detection of certain volatile amines, and its activation can trigger innate behavioral responses. In mice, it is associated with the aversive response to the predator odor 2-phenylethylamine, indicating its role in predator-prey interactions and survival-related olfactory functions [1,2,4].

Genetic deletion of Taar4 in mice has been a crucial research model. The knockout (KO) of Taar4 eliminates the aversion that mice display to low concentrations of volatile amines and to the odour of predator urine. This finding from the KO mouse model reveals that Taar4 contributes substantially to the non-redundant coding of aversive odours in the main olfactory pathway, highlighting its key role in high-sensitivity detection of innately aversive odours [3].

In conclusion, Taar4 plays an essential role in olfaction, specifically in the detection of aversive odours. The Taar4 KO mouse model has been instrumental in uncovering its function in predator-related olfactory responses, providing insights into the mechanisms underlying innate aversive odor perception, which may be relevant in understanding survival-related behaviors in mammals.

References:

1. Liberles, Stephen D. 2015. Trace amine-associated receptors: ligands, neural circuits, and behaviors. In Current opinion in neurobiology, 34, 1-7. doi:10.1016/j.conb.2015.01.001. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25616211/

2. Li, Qian. . Deorphanization of Olfactory Trace Amine-Associated Receptors. In Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 1820, 21-31. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-8609-5_2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29884934/

3. Dewan, Adam, Pacifico, Rodrigo, Zhan, Ross, Rinberg, Dmitry, Bozza, Thomas. 2013. Non-redundant coding of aversive odours in the main olfactory pathway. In Nature, 497, 486-9. doi:10.1038/nature12114. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23624375/

4. Qian, Kang-Ying, Hao, Yue, Li, Qian. . Deorphanization of Olfactory Trace Amine-Associated Receptors. In Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 2915, 201-212. doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-4466-9_14. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40249494/