Taste bud development in chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Abstract

Oral epithelium in the anterior mandibular glands region was examined in embryonic, hatchling, and mature chickens to establish the timing of morphologic events during taste bud ontogeny. Hematoxylin-and-eosin-stained sections (10 microns) from 27 Anak (broiler breed) chickens were examined serially, and buds were quantified at 16-20 days of incubation (E) and, posthatch days 1 and 50-60. Taste buds were first recognized at the beginning of E17 as small clusters of cells in the basal epithelium. Only spherical-shaped buds were observed on E17 and E18, and these spherical clusters never penetrated to the surface of the stratified epithelial layer. E19 marked a transitional stage when mature bud features began to emerge: the buds assumed a more elongate shape, several kinds of cells comprising the bud were distinguishable and the first taste pores were observed. During the ensuing embryonic days, buds continued to elongate commensurate with the deepening oral epithelium and by hatching virtually all buds opened to the oral cavity. No marked morphological changes in taste bud structure were observed on the day of hatching and at 50-60 days posthatching. Taste bud numbers increased dramatically during E17 and E18, peaked on E19, and remained relatively constant thereafter. It is concluded that the morphological sequence of taste bud development in chickens is similar to that in mammals. The timing of bud ontogeny, though initiated only during the third trimester in ovo, essentially is completed by hatching, thus providing the precocial hatchling with the sensory apparatus essential for gustatory experience.

Unfolding the codes of short-term feed appetence in farm and companion animals. A comparative oronasal nutrient sensing biology review

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Better late than never: effective air-borne hearing of toads delayed due to late maturation of the tympanic middle ear structures

“…Most vertebrate sensory systems function before or soon after an animal begins living autonomously (Ganchrow and Ganchrow, 1987;Noakes and Godin, 1988;Apfelbach et al, 1991;Fagiolini et al, 1994;Easter and Nicola, 1997;Northcutt, 2004). Yet, in anurans (frogs and toads), the tympanic hearing system is often not fully formed until days, weeks, months or even a year after metamorphosing from a free-living, aquatic larval stage to a land-based, autonomous froglet (Sedra and Michael, 1959;Hetherington, 1987).…”

Contrasting morphological evidence for the presence of taste buds in Dromaius novaehollandiae and Struthio camelus (Palaeognathae, Aves)

“…However, despite the reported low number of taste buds, birds do possess an acute sense of taste (Berkhoudt 1985;Roura et al 2013). Taste buds have been positively identified in numerous avian species (Bath 1906;Botezat 1910;Warner et al 1967;Berkhoudt 1985) including domestic poultry (Lindenmaier and Kare 1959;Saito 1966;Gentle 1971b;Berkhoudt 1977;Kurosawa et al 1983;Ganchrow and Ganchrow 1985, 1987, 1989Kudo et al 2008;Roura et al 2013), of which Gallus domesticus (Linnaeus 1758) has been most extensively researched.…”