<p>Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) is a low-calorie sweetener (LCS) widely used as an additive in foods and beverages and an excipient in pediatric medicines. Because genetic variants play a role in individual variation in the taste of Ace-K, we sought to identify genetic contributions to its taste using a genome-wide association study (GWAS). 141 adult panelists rated the taste of an aqueous solution of Ace-K using the general labelled magnitude scale (gLMS) and its palatability using the hedonic gLMS. Genotypes were assayed on the Infinium Global Screening Array. Imputation of genotypes was performed on the Michigan Imputation Server with 1000 Genomes Project phase 3 genotype data as reference. Linear regression was performed to test genetic associations between genotyped and imputed variants with three gLMS ratings (bitterness (square-root-transformed), hedonic, sweetness) of Ace-K using PLINK2, adjusting for standardized age, sex, and the first 10 principal components of genetic ancestry. We identified that a locus spanning several <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/50834">TAS2R</a> (Taste receptor 2) genes was associated with bitterness ratings of Ace-K and a locus within the gene <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/9844">ELMO1</a> (Engulfment and Cell Motility Protein 1) was associated with hedonic ratings of Ace-K (p-values &#x3C;5x10-8). No genome-wide significant signals were observed for sweetness ratings. We provide: 1) a genotype dataset in PLINK format containing both genotyped and imputed variants, 2) phenotype files containing three taste ratings and covariates, and 3) SNP-based summary statistics of the three GWAS results. Details of the methods are described in our published paper (PMID: <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40594245/">40594245</a>).</p>

Genome-Wide Association Study of the Taste and Hedonic Ratings of the Low-Calorie Sweetener Acesulfame Potassium

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