Bitter taste perception in BaYaka hunter-gatherers

Aversion towards bitter tastes evolved across vertebrate species to enable the recognition of harmful plant toxins. Genetic background, mode of subsistence, and dietary factors may explain variation in bitter taste sensitivity between human ecologies. We are the first to examine bitter taste perception within a population at different levels of market-integration, conducting an experiment using phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and thiourea (Thiourea) infused paper strips amongst the Mbendjele BaYaka hunter-gatherers from Congo. We investigated (i.) prevalence of bitter tasting phenotypes amongst the BaYaka; (ii.) differences between BaYaka who grew up in town and forest camps. We found that 45.1% of BaYaka experience PTC as bitter, and 42.5% experience Thiourea as bitter. There were no sex differences, however bitter tasting phenotypes were significantly more prevalent in town than in forest camps (PTC:64.1%vs35.1%; Thiourea:64.1%vs31.1%). Despite a shared genetic background, we found that BaYaka who grew up in town were more sensitive to bitter taste than those living in the forest, suggesting a developmental component in taste perception. We suggest that the dietary transition from wild to cultivated foods in BaYaka living in town and a decreased use of traditional plant medicine may underlie this variation in bitter taste perception.

Download Full-text

Bitter and sweet taste perception: relationships to self-reported oral hygiene habits and oral health status in a survey of Australian adults

BMC Oral Health ◽

10.1186/s12903-021-01910-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kiranjit Kaur ◽

Dean Sculley ◽

Martin Veysey ◽

Mark Lucock ◽

Janet Wallace ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Oral Health ◽

Dental Caries ◽

Oral Hygiene ◽

Bitter Taste ◽

Sweet Taste ◽

Dietary Factors ◽

Taste Perception ◽

Chewing Gum ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Oral Hygiene Habits

Abstract Background Oral health, an essential part of general health and well-being, is influenced by multiple factors, including oral hygiene habits and dietary factors. Dietary preferences are influenced by variation in taste perceptions and threshold tasting. Polymorphisms in specific genes for sweet and bitter taste receptors and bitter taste perception have been associated with dental caries. However, taste is complex with multiple receptors, each with multiple potential polymorphisms contributing to taste perception as well as social, cultural, and environmental influences. Additionally, these association studies have been conducted in restricted cohorts (e.g., children only). Furthermore, outcomes have been limited to dental caries and studies between taste perception and oral hygiene habits have not been completed. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted to investigate the relationships between bitter and sweet taste perception (liking and intensity of index food items), self-reported oral hygiene habits and oral health (n = 518). Results Higher mean intensity scores for bitter (16–21%) and sweet (< 5%-60%) were seen with higher frequencies of oral hygiene habits (brushing, use of mouthwash, chewing gum and tongue cleaning). Lower mean bitter liking scores (18–21%) were seen with higher frequencies of oral hygiene habits (brushing, mouthwash use, floss use and chewing gum). Sweet liking scores varied by reported frequency of mouthwash use and flossing only, with mixed patterns of variance. Mean bitter and sweet intensity perception scores varied with the number of dental caries ((13–20% higher in those with 3 or more caries, compared to none). Conclusions While there were numerous relationships identified between liking and perception of sweet and bitter and oral health outcomes, the magnitude and direction of associations varied by outcome. The direction of the associations cannot be inferred due to the cross-sectional nature of the study. The demonstrated relationships justify further future investigations, which could help better understand if taste liking and perception is impacted by oral hygiene and health, or vice versa. This could be important in understanding the causation and progression of oral health diseases or the development of novel therapeutics for oral health.

Download Full-text

Taste perception and expression in stomach of bitter taste receptor tas2r38 in obese and lean subjects

Appetite ◽

10.1016/j.appet.2021.105595 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 105595

Author(s):

Antonietta Robino ◽

Natalia Rosso ◽

Martina Guerra ◽

Pio Corleone ◽

Biagio Casagranda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bitter Taste ◽

Taste Receptor ◽

Taste Perception ◽

Bitter Taste Receptor

Download Full-text

Association between Polygenic Risk Scores for ADHD and Asthma: A Birth Cohort Investigation

Journal of Attention Disorders ◽

10.1177/10870547211020111 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 108705472110201

Author(s):

Douglas Teixeira Leffa ◽

Bernardo Horta ◽

Fernando C. Barros ◽

Ana M. B. Menezes ◽

Thais Martins-Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Birth Cohort ◽

Genetic Background ◽

Adult Adhd ◽

Risk Scores ◽

Asthma Diagnosis ◽

Polygenic Risk ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Genetic Overlap ◽

Genetic Mechanisms ◽

Shared Genetic

Objective: Shared genetic mechanisms have been hypothesized to explain the comorbidity between ADHD and asthma. To evaluate their genetic overlap, we relied on data from the 1982 Pelotas birth cohort to test the association between polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for ADHD (ADHD-PRSs) and asthma, and PRSs for asthma (asthma-PRSs) and ADHD. Method: We analyzed data collected at birth, 2, 22, and 30 years from 3,574 individuals. Results: Subjects with ADHD had increased risk of having asthma (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.01–3.66). The association was stronger for females. Our results showed no evidence of association between ADHD-PRSs and asthma or asthma-PRSs and ADHD. However, an exploratory analysis suggested that adult ADHD might be genetically associated with asthma. Conclusion: Our results do not support a shared genetic background between both conditions. Findings should be viewed in light of important limitations, particularly the sample size and the self-reported asthma diagnosis. Studies in larger datasets are required to better explore the genetic overlap between adult ADHD and asthma.

Download Full-text

Human Bitter Taste Perception

Chemical Senses ◽

10.1093/chemse/bjh089 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement 1) ◽

pp. i14-i15 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

W. Meyerhof

Keyword(s):

Bitter Taste ◽

Taste Perception

Download Full-text

Shared Genetic Background for Regulation of Mood and Sleep: Association of GRIA3 with Sleep Duration in Healthy Finnish Women

SLEEP ◽

10.5665/sleep.1268 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 34 (10) ◽

pp. 1309-1316 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Siddheshwar Utge ◽

Erkki Kronholm ◽

Timo Partonen ◽

Pia Soronen ◽

Hanna M. Ollila ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sleep Duration ◽

Genetic Background ◽

Shared Genetic

Download Full-text

Shared genetic background between children and adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

10.1101/589614 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Paula Rovira ◽

Ditte Demontis ◽

Cristina Sánchez-Mora ◽

Tetyana Zayats ◽

Marieke Klein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Attention Deficit ◽

Genetic Variants ◽

Genetic Background ◽

Genetic Architecture ◽

Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽

Genome Wide Association Studies ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Common Genetic Variants ◽

Shared Genetic

AbstractAttention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by age-inappropriate symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity that persist into adulthood in the majority of the diagnosed children. Despite several risk factors during childhood predicting the persistence of ADHD symptoms into adulthood, the genetic architecture underlying the trajectory of ADHD over time is still unclear. We set out to study the contribution of common genetic variants to the risk for ADHD across the lifespan by conducting meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies on persistent ADHD in adults and ADHD in childhood separately and comparing the genetic background between them in a total sample of 17,149 cases and 32,411 controls. Our results show nine new independent loci and support a shared contribution of common genetic variants to ADHD in children and adults. No subgroup heterogeneity was observed among children, while this group consists of future remitting and persistent individuals. We report similar patterns of genetic correlation of ADHD with other ADHD-related datasets and different traits and disorders among adults, children and when combining both groups. These findings confirm that persistent ADHD in adults is a neurodevelopmental disorder and extend the existing hypothesis of a shared genetic architecture underlying ADHD and different traits to a lifespan perspective.

Download Full-text

Genetic, Functional, and Phenotypic Diversity in TAS2R38-Mediated Bitter Taste Perception

Chemical Senses ◽

10.1093/chemse/bjt016 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 38 (6) ◽

pp. 475-484 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

M. Behrens ◽

H. C. Gunn ◽

P. C. M. Ramos ◽

W. Meyerhof ◽

S. P. Wooding

Keyword(s):

Bitter Taste ◽

Phenotypic Diversity ◽

Taste Perception

Download Full-text

Predators’ consumption of unpalatable prey does not vary as a function of bitter taste perception

Behavioral Ecology ◽

10.1093/beheco/arz199 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 383-392 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Liisa Hämäläinen ◽

Johanna Mappes ◽

Rose Thorogood ◽

Janne K Valkonen ◽

Kaijamari Karttunen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Condition ◽

Bitter Taste ◽

Random Sequence ◽

Parus Major ◽

Taste Perception ◽

Response Threshold ◽

Adult Males ◽

Taste Response ◽

Energetic State ◽

Prey Defenses

Abstract Many prey species contain defensive chemicals that are described as tasting bitter. Bitter taste perception is, therefore, assumed to be important when predators are learning about prey defenses. However, it is not known how individuals differ in their response to bitter taste, and how this influences their foraging decisions. We conducted taste perception assays in which wild-caught great tits (Parus major) were given water with increasing concentrations of bitter-tasting chloroquine diphosphate until they showed an aversive response to bitter taste. This response threshold was found to vary considerably among individuals, ranging from chloroquine concentrations of 0.01 mmol/L to 8 mmol/L. We next investigated whether the response threshold influenced the consumption of defended prey during avoidance learning by presenting birds with novel palatable and defended prey in a random sequence until they refused to attack defended prey. We predicted that individuals with taste response thresholds at lower concentrations would consume fewer defended prey before rejecting them, but found that the response threshold had no effect on the birds’ foraging choices. Instead, willingness to consume defended prey was influenced by the birds’ body condition. This effect was age- and sex-dependent, with adult males attacking more of the defended prey when their body condition was poor, whereas body condition did not have an effect on the foraging choices of juveniles and females. Together, our results suggest that even though taste perception might be important for recognizing prey toxicity, other factors, such as predators’ energetic state, drive the decisions to consume chemically defended prey.

Download Full-text

Bitter Taste Sensitivity Is Determined by TAS2R38 Haplotype, Associated with Saturated Fat Intake and Is Lower in Overweight and Obese Compared to Normal Weight UK adults

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzaa058_029 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 1271-1271

Author(s):

Leta Pilic ◽

Catherine Anna-Marie Graham ◽

Nisrin Hares ◽

Megan Brown ◽

Jonathan Kean ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dietary Fat ◽

Bitter Taste ◽

Saturated Fat ◽

Normal Weight ◽

Taste Perception ◽

Taste Sensitivity ◽

Lower Sensitivity ◽

Fat Intake ◽

Fat Taste ◽

Total Fat

Abstract Objectives Taste perception (sensitivity) may be determined by genetic variations in taste receptors and it affects food intake. Lower fat taste sensitivity is associated with higher dietary fat intake and body mass index (BMI). Recently, associations between bitter and fat taste sensitivity have been reported whereby bitter taste perception may be involved in textural perception of dietary fat. However, it is not clear if lower sensitivity to bitter taste would lead to an actual higher fat intake. Our objectives were to explore the associations between haplotypes in the bitter taste receptor TAS2R38, bitter taste sensitivity and fat intake and if bitter taste sensitivity is lower in individuals with higher BMI. Methods Ethical approval was obtained from the St Mary's and Oxford Brookes University Ethics Committee. Eighty-eight healthy Caucasian participants (44% male and 56% female; mean BMI 24.9 ± 4.8 kg/m2 and mean age 35 ± 14 years) completed this cross-sectional study. Height and weight were measured and genotyping performed for rs713598, rs1726866, rs10246939 genetic variants in the TAS2R38. Haplotypes were determined with Haploview software. Participants rated the intensity of a phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) impregnated strip on the general Labelled Magnitude Scale (gLMS) to determine bitter taste sensitivity and were classified as bitter tasters and non-tasters. Dietary fat intake was calculated from the EPIC-Norfolk Food Frequency Questionnaire and expressed as % total energy intake. Results TAS2R38 haplotypes were associated with bitter taster status (P < 0.005). PTC ratings of intensity were negatively correlated with % saturated fat (SFA) intake (rs = −0.256, P = 0.016). %SFA and %total fat (rs = 0.656, P < 0.005) and %total fat and energy intake (kcal) (rs = 0.225, P = 0.035) were positively correlated. Normal weight participants rated PTC strips as more intense compared to overweight and obese participants (mean rank 53 vs. 41, P = 0.033). Conclusions Bitter taste perception is determined by genetics and lower sensitivity to this taste is associated with higher intake of SFA. Lower bitter taste sensitivity in overweight/obese participants suggests that impaired bitter taste may be associated with an overall unhealthier and more energy dense dietary pattern. Funding Sources St Mary's and Oxford Brookes University.

Download Full-text