Function of the umami taste receptor and diets

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20H02941
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 38050:Food sciences-related
• Research Institution: Meiji University
• Principal Investigator: Toda Yasuka 明治大学, 農学部, 特任講師 (10802978)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 味覚 / 旨味 / GPCR

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Umami tastes are sensed by a taste receptor complex, T1R1/T1R3, that detects proteinogenic amino acids. High sensitivity to glutamate is a characteristic of human T1R1/T1R3, but the T1R1/T1R3 of other vertebrates does not consistently show this glutamate response. By using functional, behavioral, phylogenetic, and ecological approaches in diverse primate lineages, we reveal a widespread and robust response to nucleotides across T1R1/T1R3 of primates. On the other hand, T1R1/T1R3 of large primates underwent adaptive evolution that improved their ability to detect glutamate, which is a major free amino acid in leafy diets.

Free Research Field

食品科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

味覚は、食物が摂食可能であるかを判断する上で重要な感覚である。味は甘味、旨味、苦味、酸味、塩味の５基本味からなる。基本味のうち、旨味は日本人にとって馴染みのある味質だが、世界的にはあまり理解がされていない。一方、本研究によって、旨味感覚が動物の食嗜好形成において重要な役割を果たすことが裏付けられた。