Implications of Taste Receptor Polymorphisms in Dietary Interventions: TAS2R38 Polymorphisms Associate with Changes in Vegetable Intake

Few Americans meet consumption recommendations for dark green and orange vegetables that are strongly associated with reduced risk of chronic diseases. The ability to detect propylthiouricil, or PROP, is linked to vegetable preference and frequency of vegetable consumption. The TAS2R38 gene encodes a g‐protein coupled receptor that binds PROP and phenylthiocarbamide (PTC). Both PROP and PTC resemble natural bitter compounds found in green vegetables. Our study examined if allele status of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, rs10246939) in the TAS2R38 gene associated with bitter taste perception in vegetables affects: 1) the frequency of reported vegetable consumption prior to, and 2) the change in frequency of vegetable consumption after six months of either an enhanced or a minimal nutrition counseling intervention within the Heart Healthy Lenoir (HHL) study. SNP status was obtained from HHL participants either through DNA isolated from peripheral blood cells using the Infinium Human Omni Express Exome+ BeadChip (Illumina) and standard imputation methods for missing genotypes. Frequency of vegetable intake and covariates (age, gender, race, income) were available for 491 and 373 participants at baseline and at the six‐month follow‐up, respectively. We found that bitter taste genotype at rs10246939 was not associated with vegetable intake at baseline (p=0.90). After the dietary intervention we found a significant difference in frequency of vegetable intake from baseline to follow‐up between groups defined by SNP status (p<0.001); participants that were heterozygous or homozygous for the bitter taste genotype in rs10246939 consumed fewer vegetables suggesting that dietary intervention success regarding dark green vegetable intake may be influenced by underlying genetic differences in taste perceptions. We completed imputation of all three bitter taste receptor gene clusters (chromosomes 5, 7, and 12) within our dietary intervention cohort as well as a plasma carotenoid panel and are currently performing additional association analyses between these additional bitter taste receptor polymorphisms, carotenoid levels, and reported vegetable intake. Our results suggest that bitter taste genetic variation could be utilized in designing interventions to promote healthy eating. Support or Funding Information 1P50HL105184‐01 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute