Meat-Eating Cats Retain Multiple Functional Bitter Taste Receptors
Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - 14:30
in Biology & Nature
Cats have at least seven functional bitter taste receptors, according to a new Monell Center study. Further, a comparison of cat to related species reveals little relationship between biter receptor number and the extent to which a species consumes plants. The findings question the common hypothesis that bitter taste developed primarily to protect animals from ingesting poisonous plant compounds.