BitterDB

BitterDB provides a curated database of bitter-tasting natural and synthetic compounds and their associated bitter taste receptors (T2Rs/TAS2Rs) for studying bitterness perception, receptor–ligand relationships, and structure–function analyses.

Key Features:

• Extensive Compound Database: Contains over 1,000 bitter molecules (expanded from an initial 550) with quantitative sensory data on bitterness intensity and toxicity information where available.
• Receptor Associations: Documents at least one associated T2R for 270 molecules and catalogs nearly 800 ligand–T2R associations.
• Cross-Species Information: Includes bitter taste receptor data from multiple species, including human, mouse, cat, and chicken, enabling comparative analyses.
• Structure-Based Data: Provides high-quality homology models of human T2Rs and includes known ligands, mutagenesis experiment data, frequently occurring single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and links to tissue expression levels.

Scientific Applications:

• Ligand Selection: Enables selection of experimentally validated bitter ligands for biochemical and sensory studies.
• Predictive Modeling: Supports development and evaluation of bitterness predictors and forecasting of compound–receptor interactions.
• Receptor Analysis: Facilitates analysis of T2R promiscuity and specificity using curated ligand–receptor interaction data and mutagenesis information.

Methodology:

Provides high-quality homology models of human T2Rs and compiles ligand–T2R associations, mutagenesis data, SNP annotations, quantitative sensory intensity values, toxicity information, and links to tissue expression data.