Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39888968›Full record

ArticlePLoS genetics2025

Rapid expansion and specialization of the TAS2R bitter taste receptor family in amphibians.

Kathleen W Higgins, Akihiro Itoigawa, Yasuka Toda, Daniel Winston Bellott, Rachel Anderson, Roberto Márquez, Jing-Ke Weng

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS genetics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Bitter taste receptors.Chemical senses · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Kathleen W HigginsWhitehead Institute of Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3551-9502
Akihiro ItoigawaJapan Society for the Promotion of Sciences, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6576-6056
Yasuka TodaJapan Society for the Promotion of Sciences, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5912-6730
Daniel Winston BellottWhitehead Institute of Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3265-7555
Rachel AndersonWhitehead Institute of Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3450-3151
Roberto MárquezDepartment of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0644-3078
Jing-Ke WengWhitehead Institute of Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3059-0075

Funding

Medical Scientist Training ProgramT32GM007753 · NIGMS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (MEDICAL SCHOOL) · PI WALENSKY, LOREN DAVID · 1985 to 2021
$50.0M
Medical Scientist Training ProgramT32GM144273 · NIGMS · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · PI David Shumway Jones, Jacqueline A. Lees · 2022 to 2026
$14.7M
NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM007753NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM144273
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

TAS2Rs are a family of G protein-coupled receptors that function as bitter taste receptors in vertebrates. Mammalian TAS2Rs have historically garnered the most attention, leading to our understanding of their roles in taste perception relevant to human physiology and behaviors. However, the evolution and functional implications of TAS2Rs in other vertebrate lineages remain less explored. Here, we identify 9,291 TAS2Rs from 661 vertebrate genomes. Large-scale phylogenomic analyses reveal that frogs and salamanders contain unusually high TAS2R gene content, in stark contrast to other vertebrate lineages. In most species, TAS2R genes are found in clusters; compared to other vertebrates, amphibians have additional clusters and more genes per cluster. We find that vertebrate TAS2Rs have few one-to-one orthologs between closely related species, although total TAS2R count is stable in most lineages. Interestingly, TAS2R count is proportional to the receptors expressed solely in extra-oral tissues. In vitro receptor activity assays uncover that many amphibian TAS2Rs function as tissue-specific chemosensors to detect ecologically important xenobiotics.

Indexed as

AmphibiansReceptors, G-Protein-CoupledTasteAnimalsEvolution, MolecularGenomeHumansMultigene FamilyPhylogenyTaste Receptors, Type 2Receptors, G-Protein-CoupledTaste Receptors, Type 2

Identifiers

PMID39888968
PMCPMC11798467

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.