Abstract/Summary

Many nutritious leafy vegetables that should be eaten as part of a healthy diet are shunned by consumers who perceive them to be bitter. Through a combination of sensory, genetic, and analytical chemistry methods we show that individuals with ‘taster’ genotypes for a bitter taste receptor (TAS2R38) and high tastebud density (Carbonic Anhydrase VI, CA6; gustin) encoding genes cannot perceive the aroma and flavour traits of the leafy vegetable rocket (Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa) as strongly as ‘non-tasters’, due to heightened perception of bitterness. In addition, we associated sensory data with Eruca phytochemical and transcriptome data from growing locations in Italy and the United Kingdom. We observed that several genes were consistently associated with mustard, pungency, tingling, numbing, and warming attributes (MYB28c, SDI1a, BCAT4, MAM1b, CYP79F1, CYP83A1, MBP2b), and which are in turn associated with the biosynthesis of glucosinolates and their hydrolysis into pungent compounds such as isothiocyanates.