Crowdsourcing taste research: genetic and phenotypic predictors of bitter taste perception as a model.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the influence of taste perception on food choice has captured the interest of academics, industry, and the general public, the latter as evidenced by the extent of popular media coverage and use of the term supertaster. Supertasters are highly sensitive to the bitter tastant propylthiouracil (PROP) and its chemical relative phenylthiocarbamide. The well-researched differences in taste sensitivity to these bitter chemicals are partially controlled by variation in the TAS2R38 gene; however, this variation alone does not explain the supertaster phenomenon. It has been suggested that density of papillae, which house taste buds, may explain supertasting. To address the unresolved role of papillae, we used crowdsourcing in the museum-based Genetics of Taste Lab. This community lab

SUBMITTER: Garneau NL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4035552 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature