A genome-wide association study of taste liking in the Danish population

BACKGROUND: Taste liking, a complex trait, plays an important role in food choice and eating behavior, thereby influencing risk of diet-related diseases.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify novel loci that could explain differences in liking of 5 basic tastes, fat sensation, and 2 oral sensations, represented by several food items.

METHODS: Liking scores were derived using a newly developed taste liking questionnaire (TasteLQ), validated in the Danish population. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of liking of 6 modalities (sweet, salty, sour, bitter-astringency, umami, and pungency) and 9 factors representing modality subgroups among 6,437 Danish adults. As a secondary analysis, GWASs of 44 single food items from TasteLQ were also undertaken.

RESULTS: We identified 1 genome-wide significant variant, rs170518 (minor allele frequency = 0.16), on chromosome 5, associated with liking of an umami factor characterized by glutamate-rich food items [P = 3.7 × 10-8, beta = 0.14 standard deviation (SD) (standard error (SE)) = 0.03]. When analyzing individual food items, 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within 1 locus, annotated to the bitter taste receptor gene, TAS2R38, were associated with liking of bitter-tasting rocket salad. Finally, our data confirmed some of the previously associated genomic variants with taste perception, food liking, and intake.

CONCLUSIONS: Although our findings provide insight into loci involved in taste liking, they remain preliminary and warrant additional validation due to lack of replication in an independent population and limited number of genome-wide significant associations.