在鲜味、甜味、苦味、咸味和酸味5种味觉形式中,苦味能避免动物摄入有毒有害物质,在动物的生存中发挥着特别重要的作用。苦味味觉的产生依赖于苦味物质与苦味受体的相互作用。苦味受体由苦味受体基因Tas2rs编码,此类基因在不同物种中数量变化较大以适应不同的需求。目前的研究在灵长类中鉴别出了若干苦味受体的配体,并发现有的苦味受体基因所经受的选择压在类群之间、基因之间甚至同一基因不同功能区之间都存在着变化。本文从苦味受体作用的多样性特点,受体与配体的对应关系、受体基因进化模式与食性之间的关系、苦味受体基因的适应性进化方面对灵长类苦味受体基因进行了综述,以期为苦味受体基因在灵长类中的深入研究提供参考。

Among the five basic tastes (umami, sweet, bitter, salty and sour), the perception of bitterness is believed to protect animals from digesting toxic and harmful substances, thus it is vital for animal survival. The taste of bitterness is triggered by the interaction between bitter substances and bitter taste receptors, which are encoded by Tas2rs. The gene numbers vary largely across species to meet different demands. So far, several ligands of bitter receptors have been identified in primates. They also discovered that the selective pressure of certain bitter taste receptor genes vary across taxa, genes or even different functional regions of the gene. In this review, we summarize the research progress of bitter taste receptor genes in primates by introducing the functional diversity of bitter receptors, the specific interaction between bitter taste receptors and ligands, the relationship between the evolutionary pattern of bitter taste receptors and diets, and the adaptive evolution of bitter taste receptor genes. We aim to provide a reference for further research on bitter receptor genes in primates.