Taste Perception and Coding in Drosophila

Thorne, Natasha; Chromey, Caroline; Bray, Steven M.; Amrein, Hubert

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2004.05.019

Cited by 355 publications

(481 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Significantly, Gr5a is not coexpressed with any other Gr analyzed so far (Table 1) [36,42,54,55]. Surprisingly, as many as three GRNs associated with a single taste bristle were shown to express Gr5a, suggesting that multiple neurons within a sensillum may detect trehalose [54]. Finally, Gr5a was also found to be expressed in GRNs of all legs.…”

Section: Gustatory Receptor Familymentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Gr5a is expressed in approximately half of all GRNs in the labial palps, including all bristle types as well as taste pegs [1,54]. Significantly, Gr5a is not coexpressed with any other Gr analyzed so far (Table 1) [36,42,54,55]. Surprisingly, as many as three GRNs associated with a single taste bristle were shown to express Gr5a, suggesting that multiple neurons within a sensillum may detect trehalose [54].…”

Section: Gustatory Receptor Familymentioning

confidence: 91%

“…A large population of gustatory neurons expresses Gr5a, which has been shown to recognize the sugar trehalose [49,51]. Gr5a is expressed in approximately half of all GRNs in the labial palps, including all bristle types as well as taste pegs [1,54]. Significantly, Gr5a is not coexpressed with any other Gr analyzed so far (Table 1) [36,42,54,55].…”

Section: Gustatory Receptor Familymentioning

confidence: 96%

“…GAL4 in turn activates transcription with high specificity via the cis-regulatory element UAS (upstream activating sequence), cloned upstream of green fluorescence protein (GFP), or β-galactosidase reporter genes [53]. Expression analyses of about a dozen Gr genes have clearly established that they are expressed in distinct subpopulations of GRNs, supporting their role as chemosensory receptors and providing first insights into their complex cellular expression (Table 1) [36,42,54,55]. A large population of gustatory neurons expresses Gr5a, which has been shown to recognize the sugar trehalose [49,51].…”

Section: Gustatory Receptor Familymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second, widely expressed Gr gene is Gr66a [54,55]. This Gr gene is expressed in one neuron of each I-and S-type sensillum, altogether in 22 GRNs per labial palp (Table 1; Fig.…”

Section: Gustatory Receptor Familymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Taste and pheromone perception in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

Ebbs

Amrein

2007

Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol

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Taste is an essential sense for detection of nutrient-rich food and avoidance of toxic substances. The Drosophila melanogaster gustatory system provides an excellent model to study taste perception and taste-elicited behaviors. "The fly" is unique in the animal kingdom with regard to available experimental tools, which include a wide repertoire of molecular-genetic analyses (i.e., efficient production of transgenics and gene knockouts), elegant behavioral assays, and the possibility to conduct electrophysiological investigations. In addition, fruit flies, like humans, recognize sugars as a food source, but avoid bitter tasting substances that are often toxic to insects and mammals alike. This paper will present recent research progress in the field of taste and contact pheromone perception in the fruit fly. First, we shall describe the anatomical properties of the Drosophila gustatory system and survey the family of taste receptors to provide an appropriate background. We shall then review taste and pheromone perception mainly from a molecular genetic perspective that includes behavioral, electrophysiological and imaging analyses of wild type flies and flies with genetically manipulated taste cells. Finally, we shall provide an outlook of taste research in this elegant model system for the next few years.Keywords Drosophila . Gustatory receptor neurons . GTP-binding protein-coupled receptors Like most animals, Drosophila monitor their chemical world with two distinct senses: the olfactory system, which is used for the detection of volatile chemicals, and the gustatory (taste) system, which enables the fly to detect soluble compounds. The olfactory sensory system (or the fly nose) is comprised of two pairwise head appendages, the third segments of the antennae, and the maxillary palps (Fig. 1). These appendages are covered with hundreds of sensory hairs, each of which contains two to four olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) [1]. In contrast, the gustatory system is widely distributed over the animal's body. The main taste organ, the proboscis or labial palps (i.e., the fly tongue), is located on the distal end of the labellum (also a head appendage), but flies, like many other insects, have taste sensilla on legs and wings and, in females, on the genitalia [1,2].The roles of the olfactory and taste systems are clearly separated with regard to the physical state of chemicals they detect (volatile vs solubilized). However, the two systems often cooperate to fulfill specific functions in related processes and behaviors, the most obvious of them being the location and identification of food. For example, chemical cues such as the specific odor of a flower and the sugar compounds present in its nectar are by nature associated with one another. Thus, the odor cue provides a primary sensory input for an insect such as a honeybee to locate a food source (nectar), whose particular chemical composition is subsequently verified by the taste system. Similarly, the typical odor of yeast, which produces high amounts of t...

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Section: Gustatory Receptor Familymentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Gustatory Receptor Familymentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Gustatory Receptor Familymentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Gustatory Receptor Familymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second, widely expressed Gr gene is Gr66a [54,55]. This Gr gene is expressed in one neuron of each I-and S-type sensillum, altogether in 22 GRNs per labial palp (Table 1; Fig.…”

Section: Gustatory Receptor Familymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Taste and pheromone perception in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

Ebbs

Amrein

2007

Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol

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Taste Processing in Insects

Glendinning

2015

Handbook of Olfaction and Gustation

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Molecular and cellular organization of insect chemosensory neurons

Bruyne

Warr

2005

BioEssays

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Animals use their chemosensory systems to detect and discriminate among chemical cues in the environment. Remarkable progress has recently been made in our knowledge of the molecular and cellular basis of chemosensory perception in insects, based largely on studies in Drosophila. This progress has been possible due to the identification of gene families for olfactory and gustatory receptors, the use of electro-physiological recording techniques on sensory neurons, the multitude of genetic manipulations that are available in this species, and insights from several insect model systems. Recent studies show that the superfamily of chemoreceptor proteins represent the essential elements in chemosensory coding, endowing chemosensory neurons with their abilities to respond to specific sets of odorants, tastants or pheromones. Investigating how insects detect chemicals in their environment can show us how receptor protein structures relate to ligand binding, how nervous systems process complex information, and how chemosensory systems and genes evolve.

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Taste Perception and Coding in Drosophila

Cited by 355 publications

References 61 publications

Taste and pheromone perception in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

Taste and pheromone perception in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

Taste Processing in Insects

Molecular and cellular organization of insect chemosensory neurons

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