It is the first time that a wide range of songbirds can perceive sweetness!

Humans can easily distinguish sweet foods, and it is very pleasant

This study highlights a special event of songbird ancestors that allowed their umami taste receptors to recognize sugar

Bitter, salty, sweet, sour and umami are the five basic tastes that we humans perceive

It is well known that sweet taste receptors are widespread in mammals

But can other birds taste no sugar?

First, researchers from the International Research Group systematically studied the diet of birds

Researchers conducted in-depth studies and found that the umami receptors of people who specialize in eating nectar, as well as the umami receptors of other songbirds with different diets, also respond to sugar

To determine the origin of this ability, the researchers reconstructed ancestral umami receptors at different locations in the songbird genealogy

In addition to the timing of sensory changes, researchers can also reveal its molecular basis

Based on their findings, scientists suspect that the new sensory perceptions of ancestral songbirds had a profound impact on their subsequent evolution

Future research aims to understand how sweet perception interacts with other physiological characteristics (such as changes in digestion and metabolism) during the evolution of birds

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Early origin of sweet perception in the songbird radiation