New Insights on the Evolution of the Sweet Taste Receptor of Primates Adapted to Harsh Environments.

Nur Aida Md Tamrin,Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah,Yuzine Esa,Laurence Croft,Halimah Alias,Mohd Noor Mat Isa,Ramlah Zainudin

doi:10.3390/ani10122359

Abstract

Simple SummaryA sense of taste is vital to an animal’s fitness. It enables animals to select and ingest beneficial foods and avoid harmful substances in their daily lives. There have been relatively few studies regarding the evolution of the taste receptor gene for sweetness, particularly in regard to endemic Bornean primates. We constructed TAS1R2 gene phylogenies for 20 anthropoid primate species using four different methods as well as established the phylogenic time divergence. The phylogenetic analysis successfully separated the primates into their taxonomic groups and as per their dietary preferences. Of note, the estimated time of divergence for the primate speciation pattern in this study was more recent than the previously published estimates. This difference may have been due to environmental changes, such as food scarcity and climate change, during the late Miocene epoch, which likely forced primates to adapt their dietary preferences. These findings establish a foundation for further investigations.Taste perception is an essential function that provides valuable dietary and sensory information, which is crucial for the survival of animals. Studies into the evolution of the sweet taste receptor gene (TAS1R2) are scarce, especially for Bornean endemic primates such as Nasalis larvatus (proboscis monkey), Pongo pygmaeus (Bornean orangutan), and Hylobates muelleri (Muller’s Bornean gibbon). Primates are the perfect taxa to study as they are diverse dietary feeders, comprising specialist folivores, frugivores, gummivores, herbivores, and omnivores. We constructed phylogenetic trees of the TAS1R2 gene for 20 species of anthropoid primates using four different methods (neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and Bayesian) and also established the time divergence of the phylogeny. The phylogeny successfully separated the primates into their taxonomic groups as well as by their dietary preferences. Of note, the reviewed time of divergence estimation for the primate speciation pattern in this study was more recent than the previously published estimates. It is believed that this difference may be due to environmental changes, such as food scarcity and climate change, during the late Miocene epoch, which forced primates to change their dietary preferences. These findings provide a starting point for further investigation.

Highlights

Taste is a vital component of an animal’s fitness
Our results indicate that the diversification of the primates during the to relaxed-clock middle Miocene
Phylogenetic analyses of partial TAS1R2 genes in our study resolved six reciprocally monophyletic clades consisting of 20 species of primates from 14 genera, suggesting that old world monkeys (OWMs), new world monkeys (NWMs), and lesser and greater apes formed separate genetic lineage (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Taste is a vital component of an animal’s fitness. It facilitates animals in making decisions about the ingestion of beneficial foods and avoiding harmful substances in their daily life. Taste evolved to ensure animals choose the appropriate foods for their survival. Taste sensations can be divided into five basic elements: sweet, umami, bitter, salty, and sour [1,2]. Bitter and sour tastes usually warn against hazardous substances, whereas sweet and umami tastes indicate foods that are rich in carbohydrates and proteins, respectively [3]. Salty tastes indicate foods that are rich in sodium and other minerals that are required by animals for optimum biological function

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