Sensitivity to the bitter acetylated sugar sucrose octaacetate (SOA) is mediated by a single locus system with three alleles in mice. Inbred strains are classified according to SOA phenotype as tasters, nontasters, or demitasters (intermediate sensitivity). I created a novel congenic strain, C3.SW-Soa$\rm \sp{a},$ from taster (SWR/J) and demitaster (C3HeB/FeJ) strains. After 11 lineal backcross generations these G3.SW mice carry a copy of the taster allele on a $\sim$99% C3 genomic background. After testing a total of 1064 mice, taster-demitaster proportions across 16 generations were consistent with expectations from a monogenic model. / The C3 inbreds provide a suitable background for investigating genetic influences on bitter taste because they are relatively insensitive to many bitter compounds. In several experiments I tested 651 C3.SW, C3, and SW mice with concentration series of SOA and various bitter substances (48-h preference tests). Variation at the Soa locus influenced sensitivity to SOA, brucine, strychnine, denatonium, quinine and propylthiouracil. Gene effects were not found for caffeine, thiamine, or cycloheximide, indicating that the Soa gene mechanism influences responsiveness to a diverse yet limited class of bitter tastants. / Additionally, I conducted recordings from the chorda tympani (CT) nerve of 25 C3.SW, C3, and SW mice. This gustatory nerve responded robustly to concentrations of strychnine, quinine, and NaCl. However, strains of mice did not significantly differ in terms of relative CT response magnitude. In summary, the Soa gene influences behavioral responsiveness to bitter tastants, but allelic differences may not be evident at the whole-nerve level. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-01, Section: B, page: 0732. / Major Professor: Glayde Whitney. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77648 |
| Contributors | Boughter, John Dudley, Jr., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 111 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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