This genomic region represents one of several intergenic enhancers, known as Greek islands, which aggregate to form an interchromosomal hub that enables expression of a single olfactory receptor (OR) gene in olfactory sensory neurons. While all of the other OR gene clusters are sequestered in a large heterochromatic domain, this multi-enhancer interaction network evades heterochromatic silencing by associating with the transcription factors Lhx2 (LIM homeobox 2) and Ebf (EBF transcription factor), which bind in a functionally cooperative manner to allow expression of the active OR gene. The Greek island represented in this genomic region, Rhodes, was validated as a functional enhancer by reporter assays in olfactory sensory neurons of transgenic zebrafish embryos. Additionally, upregulation of the nearby OR gene cluster (Or6b2, Or6b2b, Or6b3, Or9s13, Or9s14, Or9s15, Or9s23 and Or9s27) was observed in olfactory epithelium when an array, which included this enhancer along with the Lipsi, Sfaktiria, Crete and H Greek islands, was inserted next to the endogenous Rhodes enhancer. [provided by RefSeq, Apr 2023]