4 4914524222225Reads by AI crawlersClaude1ChatGPT4Google · Gemini5Perplexity2Meta AI4Microsoft · Copilot2Amazon2Apple2China (ByteDance, Huawei, Baidu…)2ByteDance (Doubao)2Others25Total49Counted by the name each crawler declares; requests found to be impersonating one are left out. Google · Gemini includes Googlebot, the search crawler whose index Google also uses for its AI features. Other search engines and bots are under Others.
A/ATwo copies of the common allele. Published research associates this genotype with typical sensitivity to trimethylamine, the compound that gives spoiled fish its smell — most people find it strong and unpleasant at low concentrations.
A/GOne copy of the variant allele. Published research associates this genotype with rating the fish odour as less intense, and with more difficulty naming it, than people carrying no copies. TAAR5 is the receptor that detects trimethylamine specifically, which is why a change in this one gene can alter this one smell without affecting others.
G/GTwo copies of the variant allele. This is a rare genotype. Published research associates carriage of this variant with reduced perceived intensity of the fish odour; people with it may find spoiled fish and similar smells markedly less offensive, or may not register the smell at all.
Reduced sensitivity to a spoilage odour is worth knowing about in the kitchen rather than the clinic: a smell that warns other people that fish has turned may not warn you. Judge freshness by date and appearance as well as by smell.
Nature communications · 2025 · PMID 40593737 · open access
Questions about rs41286168
What is rs41286168?
rs41286168 is a single position in the genome, in or near the TAAR5 gene. Published research associates it with fish odour perception (trimethylamine). A single variant does not decide an outcome — it shifts a probability, and for most common variants the shift is small.
What conditions is rs41286168 linked to?
On MyGeneLog this position is linked to Smell Perception and Specific Anosmias. The research behind each link, and its sources, are set out on that condition page.
Does rs41286168 affect smell or taste?
This position sits in the Specific Anosmias group on the chemosensory axis. Chemosensory variants do not shift a risk — they change the perception itself, which makes them the rarest thing on this site: genetics you can check on yourself.
Does having rs41286168 mean I will get this?
No. Common variants like this one move a probability slightly and, on their own, rarely decide anything about one person. Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and health decisions should be made with a clinician who can see your whole picture.
Where does the information about rs41286168 come from?
Gisladottir et al. 2020, Current Biology — sequence variants in TAAR5 and other loci affect human odor perception and naming (PMID 33035477); replicated for fish odour identification in a 2025 meta-analysis (PMID 40593737). Every variant on MyGeneLog comes from public primary sources and is published with its citation and the date it was checked.
4 4914524222225Reads by AI crawlersClaude1ChatGPT4Google · Gemini5Perplexity2Meta AI4Microsoft · Copilot2Amazon2Apple2China (ByteDance, Huawei, Baidu…)2ByteDance (Doubao)2Others25Total49Counted by the name each crawler declares; requests found to be impersonating one are left out. Google · Gemini includes Googlebot, the search crawler whose index Google also uses for its AI features. Other search engines and bots are under Others.
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Fish odour perception (trimethylamine) (rs41286168). MyGeneLog™. https://www.mygenelog.com/variants/rs41286168