Olfactory marker protein is uniquely associated with the mature olfactory receptor neurons in many vertebrate species from fish to man. The OMP gene structure and protein sequence are highly conserved between mouse, rat and human. Results of the mouse knockout studies show that OMP- mice are compromised in their ability to respond to odor stimuli, and that OMP represents a novel modulatory component of the odor detection/signal transduction cascade. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]