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Related Experiment Videos

Cycloheximide: no ordinary bitter stimulus.

Thomas P Hettinger1, Bradley K Formaker, Marion E Frank

  • 1Center for Neurosciences, Department of Oral Health & Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, United States. thetting@neuro.uchc.edu

Behavioural Brain Research
|April 3, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Cycloheximide (CyX) triggers bitter taste avoidance in rodents via specific T2R receptors. Hamsters exhibit unique CyX aversion plasticity, unlike rats and mice, highlighting species-specific bitter taste evolution.

Area of Science:

  • Sensory Science
  • Neuroscience
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Cycloheximide (CyX) is a toxic antibiotic from Streptomyces griseus.
  • Mammalian bitter taste perception is mediated by T2R G-protein-coupled receptors.
  • Rodents exhibit high sensitivity and avoidance of CyX at low concentrations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) responses to Cycloheximide (CyX).
  • Compare CyX aversion plasticity and generalization in hamsters versus rodents (rats and mice).
  • Explore the evolutionary basis of species-specific bitter taste receptor interactions.

Main Methods:

  • Behavioral assays measuring avoidance of CyX in rodents and hamsters.
  • Electrophysiological recordings of hamster chorda tympani nerve responses to CyX.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Comparative genomic analysis of T2R receptor gene clusters across species.

    • Main Results:

    • Hamsters detected and rejected micromolar CyX, but showed initial tolerance followed by increased avoidance, a plasticity absent in rats and mice.
    • CyX aversion in hamsters did not generalize to other bitter stimuli or respond to sweeteners.
    • A rodent-specific T2R gene cluster ('CyX clade') was identified in mice, rats, and likely hamsters, but not in humans or rabbits.

    Conclusions:

    • Cycloheximide (CyX) elicits distinct bitter taste avoidance behaviors and receptor interactions across rodent species.
    • Hamster CyX aversion exhibits unique plasticity, suggesting lineage-specific evolutionary adaptations in bitter taste perception.
    • T2R receptor diversity and gene duplication contribute to species-specific responses to environmental toxins like CyX.