Family of bitter taste receptors found
Barinaga, M.
Science 287(5461): 2133-2135
2000
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 10744529 Document Number: 524844
The identification of a large family of bitter taste receptors, reported by Ryba and colleagues in the current issue of Cell, may provide new insights into the phenomenon of taste. Each receptor appears to respond to different bitter tasting compounds, and a bitter-detecting taste cell generally expresses most of the receptor genes. The cell sends the same signal to the brain regardless of the type of receptor activated by a bitter chemical, possibly explaining why the brain is unable to distinguish among bitter chemicals. These findings will enable researchers to learn more about how taste is encoded by the brain and facilitate the development of antidotes for bitter flavors.