Study Describes First Structure Behind Pufferfish Umami Recognition of Both Amino-Acid Forms
LIFEUnverifiedUpdated:
A research group reported that it has identified the structure of the region where a pufferfish umami receptor recognizes taste compounds, and that the receptor regards both forms of amino acids as palatable.
Analyzing the recognition region of a pufferfish receptor
Researchers affiliated with Osaka University, Okayama University, Institute of Science Tokyo, RIKEN and Meiji University reported examining a pufferfish taste receptor. They said they first clarified the structure of the taste-compound recognition region of an umami receptor, a molecule that acts as a taste sensor.
The institutional report characterizes this as the first elucidation of the taste-compound recognition region's structure; it provides no numerical or like-for-like baseline for comparison.
The group reported determining, for the first time, the structure of the taste-compound recognition region in a pufferfish umami receptor, alongside its claim that both left- and right-handed amino acids are recognized as palatable.
Recognition of both amino-acid forms
The reported result links receptor structure with how a pufferfish recognizes compounds associated with umami taste, including both left- and right-handed amino-acid forms.
Sources
- 理化学研究所 研究成果味覚センサーの構造に見た、動物がそれぞれ「うまいもの」を認識する仕組みRead source →