Molecular mechanisms of adaptive evolution in primate taste receptors

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Bitter taste is mediated by T2R genes, which belong to the G protein-coupled receptors. We investigated the intraspecies variations of functional T2R genes in chimpanzees and Japanese macaques, and found that they showed high nucleotide diversity along with a large number of amino acid substitutions. These trends result in the occurrence of various divergent alleles of T2Rs within the primate populations and in heterozygous individuals who might have the ability to taste a broader range of substances. In addition, we revealed that phenotypic polymorphism of sensitivity to PTC was caused by the independent mutations of T2R38 in humans, chimpanzees and macaques.