Functional evolution of novel members of the TAS1R taste receptor family in vertebrates

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19H03272
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 45020:Evolutionary biology-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Nishihara Hidenori 東京工業大学, 生命理工学院, 助教 (10450727)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 石丸 喜朗 明治大学, 農学部, 専任教授 (10451840) ; 戸田 安香 明治大学, 農学部, 特任講師 (10802978)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 味覚 / 味覚受容体 / 感覚 / 脊椎動物 / 進化 / TAS1R / T1R

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we revealed the repertoires of taste receptor T1R/TAS1R genes in various vertebrates by analyzing their genomic/transcriptomic data. Through comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of TAS1R gene family, we demonstrated that the TAS1R family is diverse, in contrast to the conventional view. We showed that repeatedly gene duplication and loss events caused the scattered distribution of TAS1R genes on the phylogenetic tree. Furthermore, we conducted functional assays of the newly-identified T1R genes and found that they are capable of recognizing diverse ligands. As a result, this suggests that the taste sensation of vertebrates is more diverse than previously thought.

Free Research Field

ゲノム進化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では時間軸を追った感覚受容の進化とそれを司る遺伝子の多様化プロセスを相関させた研究として極めて大きな成果が得られた。味覚受容体は生物種ごとに異なる機能を持つことから、味覚進化の解明は各生物種の食性や生息環境への適応メカニズムの解明に繋がる。一方これまでヒトやマウスをはじめとするモデル生物以外の味覚に関しては未だ知見が少ない。今回の非モデル生物から得られた知見を将来的にヒトの味覚受容体の機能研究にフィードバックすることで食品開発分野との相乗効果が生まれる可能性がある。