title: Bitter taste receptor T2R1 activities were compatible with behavioral sensitivity to bitterness in chickens.
abstract: Clarification of the mechanism of the sense of taste in chickens will provide information useful for creating and improving new feedstuffs for chickens, because the character of the taste receptors in oral tissues affects feeding behavior in animals. In this study, we focused on the sensitivity to bitterness in chickens. We cloned one of the bitter taste receptors, T2R1, from the chicken palate, constructed several biosensor-cells expressing chicken T2R1 (cT2R1), and determined a highly sensitive biosensor of cT2R1 among them. By using Ca(2+) imaging methods, we identified two agonists of cT2R1, dextromethorphan (Dex) and diphenidol (Dip). Dex was a new agonist of cT2R1 that was more potent than Dip. In a behavioral drinking study, the intake volumes of solutions of these compounds were significantly lower than that of water in chickens. These aversive concentrations were identical to the concentrations that could activate cT2R1 in a cell-based assay. These results suggest that the cT2R1 activities induced by these agonists are linked to behavioral sensitivity to bitterness in chickens.
authors: Laboratory of Functional Anatomy, Department of Bioresource Sciences, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Nozomi
authors: N
authors: Hirose
authors: School of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Yuko
authors: Y
authors: Kawabata
authors: Institute for Advanced Study, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. Electronic address: kawabata@agr.kyushu-u.ac.jp.
authors: Fuminori
authors: F
authors: Kawabata
authors: Laboratory of Functional Anatomy, Department of Bioresource Sciences, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Shotaro
authors: S
authors: Nishimura
authors: Laboratory of Functional Anatomy, Department of Bioresource Sciences, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Shoji
authors: S
authors: Tabata
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002645:Chickens; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003915:Dextromethorphan / Q000494:pharmacology; D010880:Piperidines / Q000494:pharmacology; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013649:Taste; D000098706:Taste Receptors, Type 2
chemical_list: D010880:Piperidines; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D000098706:Taste Receptors, Type 2; D003915:Dextromethorphan; C004858:diphenidol; D002118:Calcium
keywords: Bitter; Chicken; T2R1; Taste receptor