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 the risk of diet-related diseases. Objective This study aimed to identify novel loci that could explain differences in liking of basic tastes, fat and 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 six modalities (sweet, salty, sour, bitter-astringency, umami, and pungency) and nine 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 one genome-wide significant variant, rs170518 (MAF=0.16), on chromosome 5, associated with liking of an umami factor characterized by glutamate-rich food items (P=3.7x10-8, beta=0.14 standard deviation (SD) (Standard error (SE)=0.03). When analyzing individual food items, four SNPs within one 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 While 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.