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The tale of coffee and genes

  “Coffee powers my morning”. Now, how many of you share this sentiment? I wonder a lot of you share this sentiment! A lot of my acquaintances cannot start their day without a cup of coffee. It stimulates a positive mood in them and helps them focus on their tasks. Can genetics play a role in the preference of drinking coffee? A lot of research supports this claim!

            One research article draws a “novel association of a functional variant of TAS2R43 with coffee liking and differences in caffeine bitter perception” ‌(Pirastu et al., 2014). It means that the population with the functional variant of TAS2R43 gene1 is predisposed to savor the bitter taste of the coffee. The authors of the aforementioned paper,  also indicate that people without the variants might not enjoy this bitter taste. However, the results of this research may have a representative bias as the testing population included Europeans and Central Asians. The American, Australian, and population from other parts of Asia are not represented in this study. Nevertheless, this research delineates supplementary information about a novel association between the TAS2R43 gene and the preference for the bitter taste of the coffee. 
            A research article also sheds the light on how biology affects the taste for coffee, “Our beverage preferences seem to be influenced by our sensitivity to certain bitter substances: caffeine, quinine, and propylthiouracil, or PROP(a synthetic flavor related to the compounds in cruciferous vegetables, like kale)”(Brigit Katz, 2018). This proves that genes might have a role in why some people love the bitter taste. The population with the genetic variants that can make the bitter taste of coffee strong has the potential to be heavy drinkers of coffee. It is interesting to wonder why some people do not appreciate the taste of the coffee. Do the people who can taste the bitterness of coffee have an evolutionary advantage over the people who cannot? Evolutionary speaking, humans are particularly overly sensitive to the bitter taste. It is an evolutionary advantage of recognizing bitter taste to avoid poisonous, non-edible items from ingesting (Relaxnews, 2018). However, research indicates that people who like coffee have positive reinforcements that lead them to enjoy their cups of coffee in the morning. For example, when a journalist has a draft for an article due the next day might drink coffee to help her stay up late at night. Drinking coffee also stimulated a cheerful mood which was positive reinforcement.  To stimulate a good mood for completing a task, she is likely to drink coffee daily. This positive reinforcement might have developed a new population of humans who enjoy the benefits of drinking coffee. A research article confirms this rationale where the researchers found, “two regions of DNA near genes called BDNF and SLC6A4 that might play a role in how caffeine affects the brain by how positive reinforcement. The study participants with a certain variant, who secrete less BDNF, may feel less of the rewarding effects of drinking coffee, according to the study” (Lewis, 2014). 
            Hence many research articles support the viewpoint that the tolerance to the bitter taste of coffee might be based on genetics. There is one kind of population that cannot tolerate the bitter taste of the coffee. On the other hand, there exists a population of people who cannot function without a cup of coffee in the morning. If you are one of those people, thank you genes for that pleasant moment when you sip a cup of coffee for powering the day ahead!




Notes:
  1. TAS2R43 gene: normally expressed on the surface of the taste receptor cells with the function involving the perception of the bitter taste
Works Cited:
1.      Brigit Katz. (2018, November 16). But First, Coffee—Unless You Are Genetically Disposed to Prefer Tea. Smithsonian Magazine; Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/first-coffeeunless-you-are-genetically-disposed-prefer-tea-180970841/
2.     DiSalvo, D. (2019, January 31). How Coffee May Protect Brain Health: A New Study Claims The Benefits Aren’t Just From Caffeine. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2018/11/26/how-coffee-protects-brain-health-a-new-study-suggests-the-benefits-arent-just-from-the-caffeine/#84c236916528
3.     Lewis, T. (2014, October 7). Coffee Lover? It Could Be in Your Genes. Livescience.Com; Live Science.
4.     ‌Pirastu, N., Kooyman, M., Traglia, M., Robino, A., Willems, S. M., Pistis, G., d’Adamo, P., Amin, N., d’Eustacchio, A., Navarini, L., Sala, C., Karssen, L. C., van Duijn, C., Toniolo, D., & Gasparini, P. (2014). Association Analysis of Bitter Receptor Genes in Five Isolated Populations Identifies a Significant Correlation between TAS2R43 Variants and Coffee Liking. PLoS ONE, 9(3), e92065. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092065
5.     Relaxnews. (2018, November 16). Coffee Lovers Defy Evolution By Liking Bitter Taste: Study. HuffPost Canada; HuffPost Canada. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/11/16/coffee-study_a_23591518/





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