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Related Experiment Videos

Taste perception and coding in Drosophila.

Natasha Thorne1, Caroline Chromey, Steve Bray

  • 1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, 252 CARL Building/Research Drive, Durham, NC 27710 USA.

Current Biology : CB
|June 19, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Fruit flies distinguish edible from toxic foods using specific taste neurons. These neurons express different gustatory receptors (GRs), enabling the perception of sweet and bitter tastes for survival.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Animals require the ability to discriminate edible from contaminated food for survival.
  • Gustatory receptors (GRs) in Drosophila taste neurons are believed to control feeding behavior by recognizing sugars and bitter compounds.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the expression patterns of eight GR genes in Drosophila labial palps.
  • To investigate the roles of specific GRs in mediating taste perception and feeding behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Detailed characterization of GR gene expression in labial palps.
  • Axonal mapping of GR-expressing neurons in the brain.
  • Tetanus toxin-mediated inactivation of GR-expressing cells.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Seven GR genes, including Gr66a, are expressed in limited sets of taste neurons, often coexpressed.
  • Gr5a, a trehalose receptor, is expressed in a distinct, larger set of neurons.
  • Distinct brain projection patterns and taste modalities (bitter for Gr66a, sweet for Gr5a) were identified.

Conclusions:

  • Specific sets of gustatory receptor neurons expressing different GR genes are essential for discriminating between sweet and bitter tastes.
  • Drosophila taste neurons can express multiple GRs, forming a complex gene code, unlike the single-receptor expression in olfactory neurons.