DFG 468601105 - Bitter peptides

The formation of bitter peptides from, for example, wheat proteins or milk casein reduces consumer acceptance and, in addition to limitations in the sustainability of food production, leads to financial losses for producers. Due to the enormous complexity of food peptides as a whole, it is currently impossible to reliably predict the formation of bitter peptides in food production. The bitter taste of peptides is mediated by 5 of the 25 human bitter taste receptors (TAS2R). The aim of this project is to decipher the molecular coding of bitter peptides and thus make it predictable. By integrating various approaches such as machine learning, functional receptor studies, and proteome analyses coupled with sensory investigations, we will investigate the molecular recognition of peptides by bitter taste receptors and elucidate the molecular signatures that carry bitter information in peptide sequences. This will enable us to develop an effective and application-oriented method for identifying bitter peptides in food.

DFG