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Nature quotes Zhang on the evolution of animals' taste receptors
Thursday, June 28, 2012
More than 70 years after related research began, evolutionary biologists are still trying to figure out the reason behind the genetic mutations in various animal species that cause variation in sensitivity to different tastes. Read about Professor Jianzhi Zhang’s research involving pandas, vampire bats, birds, horses, pigs, mice and elephant sharks.
Zhang thinks there is more to the evolution of taste than just flavor. “We’re finding a lot of mismatches between feeding ecology and taste-receptor evolution,” he said. “Perhaps we still do not have a complete understanding of the functions of those genes – or of taste.”
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