Re: OT genetics

On 21/11/2024 23:40, john larkin wrote:

I was observing that some people can't stand mayonnaise (I like it)
and some people hate cilantro (I detest it. I carry tweezers to pick
small bits out of my Mexican food.)

There are a handful of compounds for which there seems to be a clear single genetic variation that determines if you can taste it or not or if it seems unpleasant. Mostly they are on the bitter receptors. Which is relevant to "cilantro" (sic) which in the ROW is called coriander.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander#Taste_and_smell
It appears to hinge critically on how you perceive the unsaturated aldehydes that form when it is bruised or crushed.
A certain amount of scrambling of some unlucky people's sense of taste and smell occurred due to Covid infections which apparently did something nasty to the nerve endings or receptors in the nose.
Mayonnaise is more about the texture and mouthfeel than anything else.
One of the weirdest taste sensations is shiso leaf (perilla in the mint family) with sushi/sashimi in Japan that actually tastes like a smell.

One of my guys is the opposite, hates mayo and loves cilantro. He
suggested that there may be a one common gene for both cases.

Highly unlikely. The known ones that are probably single gene mutations are extremely specific to a very narrow class of compounds like the one that makes sprouts taste incredibly bitter to some people, and likewise for Warfarin (in humans and in rats).
https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/scientists_reveal_why/
I have weak anecdotal evidence for a possible sex linked master on/off switch for sense of taste/smell. Most of the women on my mothers side can't taste anything much except for one cousin who like me is a super taster. I can identify many common organic chemicals by smell alone and can smell things that are too weak for others to even notice.
I could tell that I had Covid before I took the test to confirm because it didn't smell right for a common cold. I was lucky my sense of smell remained unharmed. Some professional chefs were very unlucky with it.
--
Martin Brown