Chemoreceptors (ORDB) Tutorial

For up to date issues or problems with this database please see the wiki.
For more information, please visit the Olfactory Receptor Database.

ORDB is a database of chemosensory receptors and associated information.

There are several ways to search for the information in this database, including known smells (ligands – chemical name like octanol rather than common name), species, or olfactory receptor name.  The Genbank accession number will also produce results although it is not shown in the interface.

Below, we are searching for heptanal, a known odorant molecule. 
Note, this molecule does not autocomplete at this point, but stay tuned to NIF as we expand out vocabulary.

ORDB can be found under the Databases tab, category Data Type: Dataset.

ORDB should respond with all the known olfactory receptors that have been reported to respond to this molecule, in this case this set includes ORL11, ORL431, and ORL 535. 

Note I7 is the common name for several receptors and this has to do with disagreement in this field of neuroscience over what constitutes an olfactory receptor.  ORDB is an authoritative source of olfactory receptors and they maintain a list of all “other names” for each receptor type that have been reported by at least two labs, in the common name field.  If you experience some problems with accessing these data please see ORDB.

Clicking on the blue link to ORL11 will lead the user to the ORDB at SenseLab.  More information about this receptor is available at the site including the sequence.  Clicking on any of the linked fields will lead the user to lists of receptors that are also of that type.  For example, to see all rat receptors on can click on the Rattus norvegicus link.

For more information, please visit the Olfactory Receptor Database.