Well, I had always wondered why some people (like my father, actually) do not produce body odour no matter how sweaty a day they may have had. I always assumed it was a quirk of the bacterial flora on the skin, but it appears that for some it is in the genes:
New research shows that more than 75 per cent of people with a particular version of a gene don't produce under-arm odour but use deodorant anyway. The study was based on a sample of 6,495 women who are part of the wider Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol. The researchers found that about two per cent (117 out of 6,495) of mothers carry a rare version of a particular gene (ABCC11), which means they don't produce any under-arm odour....
Speaking about the novel finding, published today in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, the lead author Professor Ian Day said: 'An important finding of this study relates to those individuals who, according to their genotype, do not produce under-arm odour. One quarter of these individuals must consciously or subconsciously recognise that they do not produce odour and do not use deodorant, whereas most odour producers do use deodorant. However, three quarters of those who do not produce an odour regularly use deodorants; we believe that these people simply follow socio-cultural norms. This contrasts with the situation in North East Asia, where most people do not need to use deodorant and they don't.' ...
The authors highlight that people who carry this rare genetic variant are also more likely to have dry (rather than sticky) ear wax and that checking ear wax is a good indicator of whether or not a person produces under-arm odour.
Previous studies have shown that there is a link between a genetic variant located in the ABCC11 gene and under-arm odour. Sweat glands produce sweat which, combined with bacteria, result in under-arm odour. The production of odour depends on the existence of an active ABCC11 gene. However, the ABCC11 gene is known to be inactive in some people.
check on both the lack of odor and dry ear wax gene
ReplyDeletejason
oh, and i've never used deodorant in my life'
ReplyDeletejason
Oh good, I still have a reader!
ReplyDeleteI don't really understand how a genetic variation affects it, though, given that the explanation is always given that body odour comes from bacteria. Does it mean you just can't get the same bacteria growing on your skin that other people do? How does a genetic difference achieve that?