Kavaliauskienė Ingrida, Domarkienė Ingrida, Ambrozaitytė Laima, Barauskienė Lina, Meškienė Raimonda, Arasimavičius Justas, Irnius Algimantas, Kučinskas Vaidutis
Department of Human and Medical Genetics Institute of Biomedical Science Faculty of Medicine Vilnius University Vilnius Lithuania.
Food Sci Nutr. 2021 Jun 27;9(8):4310-4321. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.2401. eCollection 2021 Aug.
Taste has strong evolutionary basis in the sense of survival by influencing our behavior to obtain food/medicine or avoid poisoning. It is a complex trait and varies among individuals and distinct populations. We aimed to investigate the association between known genetic factors (673 SNPs) and taste preference in the Lithuanian population, as well as to determine a reasonable method for qualitative evaluation of a specific taste phenotype for further genetic analysis. Study group included individuals representing six ethnolinguistic regions of Lithuania. Case and control groups for each taste were determined according to the answers selected to the taste-specific and frequency of specific food consumption questions. Sample sizes (case/control) for each taste are as follows: sweetness (55/179), bitterness (82/208), sourness (32/259), saltiness (42/249), and umami (96/190). Genotypes were extracted from the Illumina HumanOmniExpress-12v1.1 arrays' genotyping data. Analysis was performed using PLINK v1.9. We found associations between the main known genetic factors and four taste preferences in the Lithuanian population: sweetness-genes and (three SNPs); bitterness-genes and (six SNPs); sourness-genes , , and (48 SNPs); and saltiness-genes and (five SNPs). We found our questionnaire as a beneficial aid for qualitative evaluation of taste preference. This was the first initiative to analyze genetic factors related to taste preference in the Lithuanian population. Besides, this study reproduces, supports, and complements results of previous limited taste genetic studies or ones that lack comprehensive results concerning distinct (ethnic) human populations.
味觉在通过影响我们获取食物/药物或避免中毒的行为以实现生存方面具有强大的进化基础。它是一种复杂的特征，在个体和不同人群之间存在差异。我们旨在研究立陶宛人群中已知遗传因素（673个单核苷酸多态性）与味觉偏好之间的关联，并确定一种合理的方法来定性评估特定味觉表型，以便进行进一步的遗传分析。研究组包括代表立陶宛六个民族语言区域的个体。每种味觉的病例组和对照组根据对特定味觉和特定食物消费频率问题所选择的答案来确定。每种味觉的样本量（病例/对照）如下：甜味（55/179）、苦味（82/208）、酸味（32/259）、咸味（42/249）和鲜味（96/190）。基因型从Illumina HumanOmniExpress - 12v1.1阵列的基因分型数据中提取。使用PLINK v1.9进行分析。我们在立陶宛人群中发现了主要已知遗传因素与四种味觉偏好之间的关联：甜味——基因 和 （三个单核苷酸多态性）；苦味——基因 和 （六个单核苷酸多态性）；酸味——基因 、 、 和 （48个单核苷酸多态性）；以及咸味——基因 和 （五个单核苷酸多态性）。我们发现我们的问卷对于味觉偏好的定性评估是一种有益的辅助工具。这是首次分析立陶宛人群中与味觉偏好相关的遗传因素的举措。此外，本研究重现、支持并补充了先前有限的味觉遗传学研究结果，或那些缺乏关于不同（种族）人群全面结果的研究。
