Bitter taste perception of phenylthiocarbamide Biology essay
Individual differences in perception are ubiquitous across the chemical senses: taste, smell and chemicals, 3, 4. One hypothesis of this fact states that polymorphisms in human sensory receptor genes could alter perception by encoding functionally different receptors, 6, 7, 8 We have previously reported evidence: human bitter taste is mediated by the hTAS2R family of G protein-coupled receptors 1–4. The discovery of the hTAS2Rs opens up the potential to develop specific bitter receptor antagonists that may influence a behavioral response to different taste qualities that influence nutritional status and health. 6-n-Propylthiouracil PROP trials have been reported to be a marker of variation in taste perception, food preferences and eating behavior, but results are inconsistent. We have shown that l-Arg can enhance the bitterness intensity of PROP, while phenylthiocarbamide PTC sensitivity, a sensory property mediated by bitter taste, TAS2R38, has been described as a promising biomarker for health status or disease risk. Introduction. The ability to taste the bitter anti-thyroid compound phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) is a highly variable trait in humans, and much of the phenotypic variance in PTC perception has been attributed to genetic variation at TAS2R38, a bitter taste receptor gene, located on, towards, anecdotal, Historical and critical commentaries on genetics. Edited by James F. Crow and William F. Dove. VARIATION in taste sensitivity to the bitter compound phenylthiocarbamide PTC is one of the best-known Mendelian traits in human populations, joining eye color and blood types in the canon of classical examples. More years ago, AL Fox reported that phenylthiocarbamide PTC tastes extremely bitter to some people, being defined as “tasters” but not bitter at all to others as “non-tasters” 1,2. Since then, numerous family, twin, and population studies have shown that the inability to taste PTC is inherited in an almost Mendelian recessive form, 4, 5. Individual differences in perception are ubiquitous within the chemical senses: taste, smell, and chemical anything. One hypothesis of this fact states that polymorphisms in human sensory receptor genes could alter perception by encoding functionally different receptor types. We have previously seen that differential bitterness perception associated with genetic polymorphism in the bitter taste receptor gene TAS2R38 can influence an individual's food preferences, food consumption, and ultimately chronic diet-related conditions, including cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the effect of genetic variations on bitter taste perception in humans is mediated by the hTAS2R subfamily of G protein-coupled membrane receptors GPCRs. Structural information about these receptors is currently limited. Here we identify residues involved in phenylthiocarbamide PTC binding and in receptor activation in one of the most studied,