HYDROLYSIS OF SUCROSE OCTA-ACETATE - QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCES IN TASTER AND DEMITASTER AVOIDANCE PHENOTYPES

Calcium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide were used to hydrolyse sucrose octa-acetate (SOA) as a means of evaluating the taster (Soa(a)) and de mitaster (Soa(c)) allelic phenotypes of the genetic locus Sea. The SWR /J (taster) inbred strain and the B6.SW Soa(a) (taster) congenic strai n were demonstrated to cease avoiding upon nearly complete hydrolysis of 10(-5) M SOA with calcium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide and of 10(- 4) M SOA with calcium hydroxide. The BALB/cByJ, C3HeB/FeJ and DBARJ/2J (demitaster) inbred strains were demonstrated to cease avoiding after only a partial hydrolysis of 10(-3) M SOA using calcium hydroxide. It is suggested that specificity for the number or placement of the acet ates of SOA underlies the difference between the taster and demitaster phenotypes.