We put the cilantro taste question to about 50,000 23andMe customers, asking whether they liked the taste of cilantro and whether they thought cilantro had a soapy taste. 2003, 299 (5610): 1221-1225. In total, we were left with a set of 14,604 participants who answered the ‘soapy’ question for GWAS and 11,851 who answered only the taste preference question for a replication set. You can also search for this author in
10.1038/ng.2354.Altshuler D, Durbin RM, Abecasis GR, Bentley DR, Chakravarti A, Clark AG, Collins FS, De La Vega FM, Donnelly P, Egholm M, Flicek P, Gabriel SB, Gibbs RA, Knoppers BM, Lander ES, Lehrach H, Mardis ER, McVean GA, Nickerson DA, Peltonen L, Schafer AJ, Sherry ST, Wang J, Wilson R, Gibbs RA, Deiros D, Metzker M, Muzny D, Reid J, Wheeler D: A map of human genome variation from population-scale sequencing. 2010, 467: 1061-1073.
Search 10.1126/science.1080190.Keller A, Zhuang H, Chi Q, Vosshall LB, Matsunami H: Genetic variation in a human odorant receptor alters odour perception. 2010, 42 (7): 565-569.
2012, 37 (9): 869-881.Cadwallader K, Benitez D, Pojjanapimol S, Suriyaphan O, Singh T: Characteristic aroma components of the cilantro mimics. Like our britannica stories? Edited by: Frey C, Rouseff RL. 10.1038/ng.608.Yang J, Lee SH, Goddard ME, Visscher PM: GCTA: a tool for genome-wide complex trait analysis. Nat Genet. © 2020 BioMed Central Ltd unless otherwise stated. This cohort has been described in detail previously[On the 23andMe website, participants contribute information through a combination of research surveys (longer, more formal questionnaires) and research ‘snippets’ (multiple-choice questions appearing as part of various 23andMe webpages). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( You can also search for this author in 2004, 555 (Pt 3): 743-756.Buajeeb W, Poomsawat S, Punyasingh J, Sanguansin S: Expression of p16 in oral cancer and premalignant lesions. Am J Hum Genet.
10.1038/nature06162.Eriksson N, Macpherson JM, Tung JY, Hon LS, Naughton B, Saxonov S, Avey L, Wojcicki A, Pe’er I, Mountain J: Web-based, participant-driven studies yield novel genetic associations for common traits. These results confirm that there is a genetic component to cilantro taste perception and suggest that cilantro dislike may stem from genetic variants in olfactory receptors. Nature. You can also search for this author in
2005, Washington: American Chemical Society, 117-128.Eyres G, Dufour JP, Hallifax G, Sotheeswaran S, Marriott PJ: Identification of character-impact odorants in coriander and wild coriander leaves using gas chromatography-olfactometry (GCO) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC x GC-TOFMS). In this study, participants were asked two questions about cilantro via research snippets:‘Does fresh cilantro taste like soap to you?’ (Yes/No/I’m not sure)‘Do you like the taste of fresh (not dried) cilantro?’ (Yes/No/I’m not sure)Among all 23andMe customers, 18,495 answered the first question (as either yes or no), 29,704 the second, and 15,751 both.
Virtually any topic for the virtual learner. Flavour. 1974, Amsterdam: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, [1597 ed]Leach H: Rehabilitating the “stinking herbe”: a case study of culinary prejudice. 2010, 6: e1000993-10.1371/journal.pgen.1000993.Kurland MD, Newcomer MB, Peterlin Z, Ryan K, Firestein S, Batista VS: Discrimination of saturated aldehydes by the rat I7 olfactory receptor.
To test this genetic trait, go into a dark room (a bathroom with the lights out, a photo development room, a movie theater) and wait for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Nature. 2007, 81: 1084-1097. 2012, 486 (7403): S6-10.1038/486S6a.Yang J, Benyamin B, McEvoy BP, Gordon S, Henders AK, Nyholt DR, Madden PA, Heath AC, Martin NG, Montgomery GW, Goddard ME, Visscher PM: Common SNPs explain a large proportion of the heritability for human height. It is actually a dominant trait.
A total of 1,265 individuals were genotyped on multiple chips. She has her M.S.... PLoS ONE. By using this website, you agree to our IBD was calculated using the methods described in[Subjects were genotyped on one or more of three chips, two based on the Illumina HumanHap550+ BeadChip and the third based on the Illumina OmniExpress+ BeadChip (San Diego, CA, USA). By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Briefly, the GWAS was conducted in 14,604 unrelated participants of primarily European ancestry who responded to an online questionnaire asking whether they thought cilantro tasted like soap (TableWe found one significant association for cilantro soapy-taste that was confirmed in the cilantro preference population.
10.1038/ejhg.2011.201.Manji SS, Williams LH, Miller KA, Ooms LM, Bahlo M, Mitchell CA, Dahl HH: A mutation in synaptojanin 2 causes progressive hearing loss in the ENU-mutagenised mouse strain Mozart. Nature. Of course some of this dislike may come down to simple preference, but for those cilantro-haters for whom the plant tastes like soap, the issue is genetic.
For all participants, we imputed genotypes in batches of 8,000–10,000 using Beagle and Minimac[A total of 11,914,767 SNPs were imputed.
Natural Flavors and Fragrances. Nat Genet.
2012, 44 (8): 955-959. 2011, 88: 76-82. You can also search for this author in These people have a variation in a group of olfactory-receptor genes that allows them to strongly perceive the soapy-flavored aldehydes in cilantro …
Melissa Petruzzello is Assistant Editor of Plant and Environmental Science and covers a range of content from plants, algae, and fungi, to renewable energy and environmental engineering.