BitterX: A tool for understanding bitter taste in humans

Abstract

BitterX is an open-access tool aimed at providing a platform for identifying human bitter taste receptors, TAS2Rs, for small molecules. It predicts TAS2Rs from the molecular structures of arbitrary chemicals by integrating two individual functionalities: bitterant verification and TAS2R recognition. Using BitterX, several novel bitterants and their receptors were predicted and experimentally validated in the study. Therefore, BitterX may be an effective method for deciphering bitter taste coding and could be a useful tool for both basic bitter research in academia and new bitterant discoveries in the industry.