Genetic Determinants of Food Preferences

味觉在决定个人食物偏好和饮食习惯方面起着关键作用。个体对苦、甜、鲜味、酸或咸的味觉感知差异可能会影响饮食习惯，从而影响个体的营养状况。除了这些传统的味觉模式之外，越来越多的证据表明，“脂肪味”可能代表着第六种味觉模式。在舌头表面的味觉细胞膜中已经发现了几种味觉受体，其中包括苦味受体T2R家族，与甜味和鲜味感知相关的T1R受体，与酸味相关的PKD1L3和PKD2L1离子通道，完整膜蛋白CD36和G蛋白偶联受体GPR120，它们被认为是“脂肪味”受体。此外，上皮钠通道和香草受体TRPV1可能解释了咸味感知。因此，参与味觉感知的基因的常见多态性可能解释了种群内部和种群之间食物偏好和饮食习惯的一些个体间差异。然而，这些基因的多态性与对某些食物和饮料的偏好/厌恶之间的关系尚不清楚。这项研究计划的目的是调查不同味觉受体编码基因的共同变异如何影响年轻人对某些食物和饮料的偏好。参与者（n=1,650）将来自多伦多营养基因组学和健康研究，他们完成了一份包含63项的食物偏好清单，一份包含196项的食物频率问卷和一份一般生活方式问卷。DNA是从空腹血液样本中分离出来的，将用于对编码味觉受体的基因的候选多态性进行基因分型。这项研究项目的发现将有助于解释为什么有些人寻求或避免某些食物，并可能对开发针对某些人群的新型食品具有重要意义。

Taste perception plays a key role in determining individual food preferences and dietary habits. Individual differences in bitter, sweet, umami, sour or salty taste perception may influence dietary habits that impact the nutritional status of an individual. In addition to these traditional taste modalities there is growing evidence that 'fat taste' may represent a sixth modality. Several taste receptors have been identified within taste cell membranes on the surface of the tongue, and they include the T2R family of bitter taste receptors, the T1R receptors associated with sweet and umami taste perception, the ion channels PKD1L3 and PKD2L1 linked to sour taste, the integral membrane protein CD36 and the G protein-coupled receptor GPR120, which are putative 'fat taste' receptors. Additionally, epithelial sodium channels and a vanilloid receptor, TRPV1, may account for salty taste perception. Common polymorphisms in genes involved in taste perception may, therefore, account for some of the inter-individual differences in food preferences and dietary habits within and between populations. However, the association between polymorphisms in these genes and preference/aversion to certain foods and beverages is not known. The objective of the proposed research program is to investigate how common variations in genes that code for different taste receptors influence preferences for certain foods and beverages in a population of young adults. Participants (n=1,650) will be from the Toronto Nutrigenomics and Health Study who completed a 63-item food preference checklist, a 196-item food frequency questionnaire and a general lifestyle questionnaire. DNA was isolated from fasting blood samples and will be used for genotyping candidate polymorphisms in genes that code for taste receptors. Findings from this research program will help to explain why some individuals seek or avoid certain foods and may have important implications for the development of novel food products that are targeted to certain populations.