| Functional |
"Mammalian sweet taste is primarily mediated by the type 1 taste receptor Tas1r2/Tas1r3, whereas Tas1r1/Tas1r3 act as the principal umami taste receptor." |
10.1073/pnas.1118360109 |
| Mutation Description |
"Based on our current data, the Canadian otter appears to have an intact Tas1r2 gene as well. In contrast, we detected a T insertion at 360 bp in exon 3 of the Asian otter Tas1r2 based on the sequence alignment with the dog ortholog (Fig. 1 A and B and SI Appendix, Fig. S3), predicting a defective Tas1r2. The same insertion was found in DNA sample from a second Asian otter." |
10.1073/pnas.1118360109 |
| Timing of Loss |
"The widespread loss of Tas1r2 in species of the order Carnivora, the variance in their lineages, and the independent pseudogenizing mutations among species in distinct families strongly support the hypothesis that the loss of Tas1r2 occurred independently many times during the evolution of the order Carnivora." |
10.1073/pnas.1118360109 |
| Phenotypic |
"It seems most likely that changes in dietary behavior in the process of becoming obligate carnivores may favor the loss of a functional Tas1r2, arguing for convergent evolution of pseudogenized Tas1r2." |
10.1073/pnas.1118360109 |