Posted on 08/14/2003 4:21:50 AM PDT by yonif
Weizmann Institute researchers have finally discovered why the saying "there's no accounting for taste" is true.
A team headed by Prof. Doron Lancet of the molecular genetics department at the Rehovot institute found that some of the 1,000 genes responsible for the nose's odor-detecting receptors can be optional, causing some ethnic groups to smell what others cannot.
And since the sense of smell is largely responsible for the sense of taste, this can affect flavor perception as well.
It has been known for some time that the human genome comprises 1,000 genes that code for the nose's odor-detecting receptors. Of these, more than half have become totally inactive in humans.
But now Lancet's team have published a study in Nature Genetics showing that at least 50 genes are "optional" they can be active in some individuals and inactive in others. This high level of genetic variation among individuals is most unusual.
A simple calculation, based on the new findings, shows that nearly every human being would display a different pattern of active/inactive receptors an individualized genetic bar code. The uncovered genetic heterogeneity affects the way thousands of aromas and flavors are perceived. The Weizmann team demonstrated that the level of obliteration of olfactory receptors varies among different ethnic groups.
The novel discovery, says Lancet, has profound implications for the way the perfume, food, and beverage industries handle the discovery of new aroma, flavor, and fragrance ingredients. Usually one person, or a small test panel, makes sensory decisions taken to represent billions of customers. But since every nose is different, the industry might rethink such issues.
The investigators believe that soon a DNA chip could be used to perform olfactory genetics typing of panels and target audiences alike. Thus, cosmetics and foodstuff design would be revolutionized in much the same way that the drug industry now seriously contemplates developing tailor-made medications based on the breakthroughs of pharmacogenetics.
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