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Penguins have lost three basic tastes forever: Study
New York: Penguins lost three of the five basic tastes – sweet, bitter and the savoury meaty taste known as umami – more than 20 million years ago and have never regained them, reveals a University of Michigan-led study of penguin genetics.
“Because penguins are fish eaters, the loss of the umami taste is especially perplexing,” said study leader Jianzhi “George” Zhang, professor in department of ecology and evolutionary biology.
Penguins eat fish so people would guess that they need the umami receptor genes — but for some reason, they do not have them.
“These findings are surprising and puzzling and we do not have a good explanation for them. But we have a few ideas,” Zhang added.
He suspects the sensory changes are tied to ancient climate cooling events in Antarctica where penguins originated.
The leading hypothesis is that the genes were lost after cold Antarctic temperatures interfered with taste perception.
Vertebrates typically possess five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami.
Previous genetic studies showed that the sweet taste receptor gene is absent from the genomes of all birds examined to date.
For the study, Zhang and his colleagues took a closer look at the Adelie and emperor penguins data.
In addition, they analysed bird tissue samples (chinstrap, rockhopper and king penguins, plus eight other closely related non-penguin bird species).
They also reviewed publicly available genomes of 14 other non-penguin bird species.
They found that all penguin species lack functional genes for the receptors of sweet, umami and bitter tastes.
In the Adelie and emperor genomes, umami and bitter taste receptor genes have become “pseudogenes”, genetic sequences resembling a gene but lacking the ability to encode proteins.
The genomes of all non-penguin birds studied — including egrets, finches, flycatchers, parrots, macaws, falcons, chickens and mallards — contain the genes for the umami and bitter tastes but, as expected, lack receptors for the sweet taste.
“The results strongly suggest that umami and bitter tastes were lost in the common ancestor of all penguins, whereas the sweet taste was lost earlier,” the authors wrote.
Penguins originated in Antarctica after their separation from tubenose seabirds around 60 million years ago and the major penguin groups separated from one another about 23 million years ago.
“The taste loss likely occurred during that 37-million-year span which included periods of dramatic climate cooling in Antarctica,” Zhang said.
The paper is forthcoming in the journal Current Biology.
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.
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