Larval taste exposure creates compound-specific behavioral modifications in adult Drosophila melanogaster

An animal's ability to taste is critical for nutrient selection and rejection of potentially toxic substances. Factors such as age, diet, environment, and internal state can also influence food-related behavioral outcomes. One such factor-exposure to taste cues during early development-remains poorly understood. Here, we evaluate how larval taste input affects adult feeding preference in Drosophila melanogaster. We find that larval dietary exposure to papaverine, a bitter alkaloid, attenuates feeding avoidance of papaverine in adult flies. This behavioral modification appears compound specific, occurring with papaverine but not with other bitter chemicals tested, and selective, with feeding preferences for other bitter tastants unaffected. We identify contributions of larval bitter taste function, taste projection populations, and the cyclic AMP (cAMP)-phosphodiesterase dunce in supporting this behavioral modification. Together, our findings suggest that developmental experiences with bitter compounds can change taste-mediated behaviors through defined sensory and neural circuit components.