Saturday DNA! NYC - Sour to Sweet: the Miraculin Effect!

A common theme in biology is the need for receptor activation to produce an effect. Immune responses, hormone pathways, and our sense of taste all function thanks to the help of a team of cell receptors. While these receptors often have specific activators, scientists have discovered both natural and synthetic compounds that can "trick" cell receptors into activating or deactivating a response. Join us to explore how different receptors work, with a specific focus on the TAS2R38 bitter taste receptor and the synthetic chemical PTC. We’ll also test the effect of miraculin - a protein from miracle berries that activates sweet taste receptors in response to acidic foods. 

In this session, participants will:

• Learn how different cell receptors work through models and examples;
• Explore the relationship between genotype and phenotype of PTC tasting by conducting agarose gel electrophoresis and bioinformatic analyses of known taster and non-taster profiles; 
• Discuss how detection of mutations can lead to drug development targets;
• Determine participant phenotype by tasting PTC; and
• Trick taste buds with miraculin, then taste sour and acidic foods!

(Lemons and sour candy will be available, and participants can also bring their own foods to try.)

*Note, participants will not be using their own DNA in this session

Ages 14 to adult.  Chaperones are welcome to participate but are not required for students under 15 (chaperones must purchase their own ticket).

Host or Publisher Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory DNA Learning Center