EcologicalSensingThroughTasteand ChemosensationMediatesInflammation: ABiologicalAnthropologicalApproach

Abstract

Ecologicalsensingandinflammationhaveevolvedtoensureoptimabetweenorganismsurvivalandreproductivesuccessindifferentandchanging environments.Atthemolecularlevel,ecologicalsensingconsistsofmanytypesofreceptorslocatedindifferenttissuesthatorchestrateintegrated responses (immune, neuroendocrine systems) to external and internal stimuli. This review describes emerging data on taste and chemosensory receptors,proposingthemasbroadecologicalsensorsandprovidingevidencethattasteperceptionisshapednotonlyaccordingtosenseepitopes fromnutrientsbutalsoinresponsetohighlydiverseexternalandinternalstimuli.Weapplyabiologicalanthropologicalapproachtoexaminehow ecological sensing has been shaped by these stimuli through human evolution for complex interkingdom communication between a host and pathologicalandsymbioticbacteria,focusingonpopulation-specificgeneticdiversity.Wethenfocusonhowthesesensoryreceptorsplayamajor role in inflammatory processes that form the basis of many modern common metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and aging. Theimpactsofhumannicheconstructionandculturalevolutioninshapingenvironmentsaredescribedwithemphasisonconsequentbiological responsiveness.