Potential Relation between Genetic Polymorphism of Bitter Taste Receptor TAS2R38 and Blood Groups in Iraqi Population

The ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) is the most studied feature in human genetics, beside the ABO blood group system. These two characteristics have been widely utilized to characterize genetic differences amongst human populations around the world. The current study aims to determine the potential relationship between these two genetic traits in Iraqi population. The study included 400 university students, all of Arab origins and without any genetic or health problems. The number of tasters was generally greater than the number of non-tasters with a significant difference (p = 0.04). The results showed that most of the tasters were from the AB blood group and most of the non-tasters were from O blood group with a non-significant difference (p= 0.16, 0.128, respectively). To support these results, we need to conduct a study on a larger sample size.