ABOVE: Top (left to right): Western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) in Bossou, Guinea, Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) in Yakushima, Japan, Blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) in Kalinzu, Uganda
Bottom (left to right): Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) in Danum Valley, Borneo, Malaysia, Anubis baboon (Papio anubis) in Kalinzu, Uganda, Javan lutung (Trachypithecus auratus) in Pangandaran, Java, Indonesia
© TAKASHI HAYAKAWA
Most people enjoy umami flavor, which is perceived when a taste receptor called T1R1/T1R3 senses the amino acid glutamate. In some other mammals, such as mice, however, this same receptor is much less sensitive to glutamate. In a new study published August 26 in Current Biology, researchers uncover the molecular basis for this difference. They show that the receptor evolved in humans and some other primates away from mostly binding free nucleotides, which are common in insects, to preferentially binding glutamate, which is abundant in leaves. The authors argue that the change facilitated a ...
