Characterization of the porcine nutrient and taste receptor gene repertoire in domestic and wild populations across the globe

Abstract

We have defined twenty-eight oral nutrient sensing related genes for the pig. The homology with the human repertoire is high for the porcine non-bitter taste gene repertoire and low for the porcine Tas2r repertoire. Our data suggests that bitter taste is a plastic trait, possibly associated with the ability of pigs to adapt to diverse environments and that may be subject to balancing selection.