[5] Olfactory receptors interact with odorant molecules in the nose, to initiate a neuronal response that triggers the perception of a smell.

The olfactory receptor proteins are members of a large family of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) arising from single coding-exon genes.

Olfactory receptors share a 7-transmembrane domain structure with many neurotransmitter and hormone receptors and are responsible for the recognition and G protein-mediated transduction of odorant signals.

The olfactory receptor gene family is the largest in the genome.

[5] This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.