Protein hydrolysates are avoided by herbivores but not by omnivores in two-choice preference tests

Genetics of taste receptors

Taste receptors function as one of the interfaces between internal and external milieus. Taste receptors for sweet and umami (T1R [taste receptor, type 1]), bitter (T2R [taste receptor, type 2]), and salty (ENaC [epithelial sodium channel]) have been discovered in the recent years, but transduction mechanisms of sour taste and ENaC-independent salt taste are still poorly understood. In addition to these five main taste qualities, the taste system detects such noncanonical "tastes" as water, fat, and complex carbohydrates, but their reception mechanisms require further research. Variations in taste receptor genes between and within vertebrate species contribute to individual and species differences in taste-related behaviors. These variations are shaped by evolutionary forces and reflect species adaptations to their chemical environments and feeding ecology. Principles of drug discovery can be applied to taste receptors as targets in order to develop novel taste compounds to satisfy demand in better artificial sweeteners, enhancers of sugar and sodium taste, and blockers of bitterness of food ingredients and oral medications.

A pharm-ecological perspective of terrestrial and aquatic plant-herbivore interactions

We describe some recent themes in the nutritional and chemical ecology of herbivores and the importance of a broad pharmacological view of plant nutrients and chemical defenses that we integrate as "Pharm-ecology". The central role that dose, concentration, and response to plant components (nutrients and secondary metabolites) play in herbivore foraging behavior argues for broader application of approaches derived from pharmacology to both terrestrial and aquatic plant-herbivore systems. We describe how concepts of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are used to better understand the foraging phenotype of herbivores relative to nutrient and secondary metabolites in food. Implementing these concepts into the field remains a challenge, but new modeling approaches that emphasize tradeoffs and the properties of individual animals show promise. Throughout, we highlight similarities and differences between the historic and future applications of pharm-ecological concepts in understanding the ecology and evolution of terrestrial and aquatic interactions between herbivores and plants. We offer several pharm-ecology related questions and hypotheses that could strengthen our understanding of the nutritional and chemical factors that modulate foraging behavior of herbivores across terrestrial and aquatic systems.

Bitter avoidance in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) and mice (Mus musculus and Peromyscus leucopus)

Rejection of bitter substances is common in many species and may function to protect an animal from ingestion of bitter-tasting toxins. Since many plants are bitter, it has been proposed that high tolerance for bitterness would be adaptive for herbivores. Earlier studies conducted on herbivorous guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) have been used to support this proposal. We tested guinea pigs with bitter plant secondary metabolites (salicin, caffeine, quinine hydrochloride) and bitter protein hydrolysates (two types of hydrolyzed casein, hydrolyzed soy) in a series of two-choice preference tests. For comparison, we tested two nonherbivorous mouse species (Mus musculus and Peromyscus leucopus). Guinea pigs did show weaker avoidance of quinine hydrochloride than did the mice, confirming predictions generated from earlier work. However, guinea pigs had similar responses to caffeine as did Peromyscus. Both of these species showed weaker avoidance responses than Mus to 10 mM caffeine. For salicin, guinea pigs were the only species to avoid it at 10 mM and their preference scores at this concentration were significantly lower than for the two mice species. Guinea pigs avoided all of the protein hydrolysates more strongly than the other species. Responses to the protein hydrolysates did not reflect the patterns observed with the simple bitter compounds, suggesting that other properties of these complex stimuli may be responsible for guinea pig avoidance of them. Our results suggest caution in accepting, without further empirical support, the premise that guinea pigs (and herbivores in general) have a generalized reduced bitter sensitivity.