Functional decline of sweet taste sensitivity of colobine monkeys

Nishi, Emiko; Suzuki‐Hashido, Nami; Hayakawa, Takashi; Tsuji, Yamato; Suryobroto, Bambang; Imai, Hiroo

doi:10.1007/s10329-018-0679-2

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Consistent with this result, our cell-based assays showed that the sweet taste receptors of the four insectivorous bats were not activated by any of the sugars tested in this study (Fig. 3), possibly due to mutations on critical functional domains of their receptors (37). Our subsequent assays on chimeric receptors supported this view and confirmed the functional importance of VFD domain of Tas1r2/Tas1r3 on sugar detection.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Importantly, we cannot directly infer that sweet taste perception mediated by the Tas1r2-Tas1r3 heterodimer is conserved in frugivorous and insectivorous bats because an intact coding sequence does not indicate an intact gene function and/or animal behavior (36,37). Therefore, we performed behavioral preference tests on R. leschenaultii (a congeneric species of R. aegyptiacus) and found strong behavioral preference toward natural sugars (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Loss of sweet taste despite the conservation of sweet receptor genes in insectivorous bats

Jiao

Xie

Zhang

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The evolution of taste perception is usually associated with the ecology and dietary changes of organisms. However, the association between feeding ecology and taste receptor evolution is unclear in some lineages of vertebrate animals. One example is the sweet taste receptor gene Tas1r2. Previous analysis of partial sequences has revealed that Tas1r2 has undergone equally strong purifying selection between insectivorous and frugivorous bats. To test whether the sweet taste function is also important in bats with contrasting diets, we examined the complete coding sequences of both sweet taste receptor genes (Tas1r2 and Tas1r3) in 34 representative bat species. Although these two genes are highly conserved between frugivorous and insectivorous bats at the sequence level, our behavioral experiments revealed that an insectivorous bat (Myotis ricketti) showed no preference for natural sugars, whereas the frugivorous species (Rousettus leschenaultii) showed strong preferences for sucrose and fructose. Furthermore, while both sweet taste receptor genes are expressed in the taste tissue of insectivorous and frugivorous bats, our cell-based assays revealed striking functional divergence: the sweet taste receptors of frugivorous bats are able to respond to natural sugars whereas those of insectivorous bats are not, which is consistent with the behavioral preference tests, suggesting that functional evolution of sweet taste receptors is closely related to diet. This comprehensive study suggests that using sequence conservation alone could be misleading in inferring protein and physiological function and highlights the power of combining behavioral experiments, expression analysis, and functional assays in molecular evolutionary studies.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loss of sweet taste despite the conservation of sweet receptor genes in insectivorous bats

Jiao

Xie

Zhang

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Analysis of the genomic and proteomic information available indicates that the sweet taste receptor T1R2/T1R3 is widely distributed in all kingdoms of mammalia including primates ( Hellekant and Danilova, 1996 ; Li et al, 2009 ). To date, the T1R2s/T1R3s of primate species humans, squirrel monkeys and asian colobine monkeys have been characterized with the cell-based signal assays, indicating their functional differentiation ( Liu et al, 2011 ; Nishi et al, 2018 ). Furthermore, many behavioral and gustatory responses tests have shown diverse sweet taste preferences in primates, suggesting a high degree of functional flexibility ( Hellekant et al, 1981 ; Dieter et al, 1992 ; Hellekant et al, 1993 ; Hellekant and Danilova, 1996 ; Danilova et al, 2002 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic analysis reveals novel insight into the molecular determinants of function, diversity and evolution of sweet taste receptors T1R2/T1R3 in primates

Wang

Liu

Cui

et al. 2023

Front. Mol. Biosci.

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Sweet taste is a primary sensation for the preference and adaption of primates to diet, which is crucial for their survival and fitness. It is clear now that the sweet perception is mediated by a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-sweet taste receptor T1R2/T1R3, and many behavioral or physiological experiments have described the diverse sweet taste sensitivities in primates. However, the structure-function relationship of T1R2s/T1R3s in primates, especially the molecular basis for their species-dependent sweet taste, has not been well understood until now. In this study, we performed a comprehensive sequence, structural and functional analysis of sweet taste receptors in primates to elucidate the molecular determinants mediating their species-dependent sweet taste recognition. Our results reveal distinct taxonomic distribution and significant characteristics (interaction, coevolution and epistasis) of specific key function-related residues, which could partly account for the previously reported behavioral results of taste perception in primates. Moreover, the prosimians Lemuriformes species, which were reported to have no sensitivity to aspartame, could be proposed to be aspartame tasters based on the present analysis. Collectively, our study provides new insights and promotes a better understanding for the diversity, function and evolution of sweet taste receptors in primates.

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Effects of food availability and its seasonal changes on the dietary habits of wild silvery lutungs (Trachypithecus cristatus) in a coastal forest in west Sumatra, Indonesia

Akbar

Rizaldi

Perwitasari-Farajallah

et al. 2022

Folia Primatol.

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The dietary composition of primates is often affected by the availability of food, as well as seasonal variations within their habitat. This study presents quantitative data on the feeding behavior of wild silvery lutungs (Trachypithecus cristatus) inhabiting a coastal forest in West Sumatra, Indonesia. This research emphasizes the relationship between food availability and the way this changes by season. Feeding strategies of these primates was also examined. Feeding behavior of a group of wild silvery lutungs was observed for 12 months from August 2018 to July 2019, with a total observation time of 482 hours. We recorded 74 items from 37 different plant species that were included in the lutungs’ diet. Nineteen out of 37 plant species comprised > 1% of the lutung’s annual diet. They can therefore be considered the main plant food sources for the lutungs. The lutungs mainly fed on young leaves (68.3%). However, during certain months, both ripe and unripe fruit formed a major part of their diet. Plant part-based analyses showed a negative correlation between the availability of young leaves and ripe fruit feeding. Plant species-based analyses revealed few significant positive relationships between the feeding percentages of the main dietary items (mainly young leaves) and their availability. This implies that young leaves and ripe fruit were both the preferred and the fallback foods. This also indicates that lutung activity, ranging patterns, and activity at the study site are affected mainly by food distribution and availability. Further research is needed to increase the understanding of Asian colobine feeding strategies, feeding patterns, and food resource characteristics.

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Functional decline of sweet taste sensitivity of colobine monkeys

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Loss of sweet taste despite the conservation of sweet receptor genes in insectivorous bats

Loss of sweet taste despite the conservation of sweet receptor genes in insectivorous bats

Systematic analysis reveals novel insight into the molecular determinants of function, diversity and evolution of sweet taste receptors T1R2/T1R3 in primates

Effects of food availability and its seasonal changes on the dietary habits of wild silvery lutungs (Trachypithecus cristatus) in a coastal forest in west Sumatra, Indonesia

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