Abstract:
Across species, taste provides important chemical information about potential food sources and the surrounding environment. As details about the chemicals and receptors responsible for gustation are discovered, a complex view of the taste system is emerging with significant contributions from research using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a model organism. In this brief review, we summarize recent advances in Drosophila gustation and their relevance to taste research more broadly. Our goal is to highlight the molecular mechanisms underlying the first step of gustatory circuits: ligand-receptor interactions in primary taste cells. After an introduction to the Drosophila taste system and how it encodes the canonical taste modalities sweet, bitter, and salty, we describe recent insights into the complex nature of carboxylic acid and amino acid detection in the context of sour and umami taste, respectively. Our analysis extends to non-canonical taste modalities including metals, fatty acids, and bacterial components, and highlights unexpected receptors and signaling pathways that have recently been identified in Drosophila taste cells. Comparing the intricate molecular and cellular underpinnings of how ligands are detected in vivo in fruit flies reveals both specific and promiscuous receptor selectivity for taste encoding. Throughout this review, we compare and contextualize these Drosophila findings with mammalian research to not only emphasize the conservation of these chemosensory systems, but to demonstrate the power of this model organism in elucidating the neurobiology of taste and feeding.
摘要:
跨物种,味道提供了有关潜在食物来源和周围环境的重要化学信息。随着导致味觉的化学物质和受体的细节被发现,一个复杂的味觉系统的观点正在出现,利用果蝇的研究做出了重大贡献,黑腹果蝇,作为一个模式生物。在这个简短的审查,我们总结了果蝇味觉的最新进展及其与更广泛的味觉研究的相关性。我们的目标是强调味觉回路第一步的分子机制:原代味觉细胞中的配体-受体相互作用。在介绍了果蝇味觉系统及其如何编码经典味觉模式之后,苦涩,咸,我们描述了在酸味和鲜味的背景下对羧酸和氨基酸检测的复杂性质的最新见解,分别。我们的分析延伸到非规范的味道模式,包括金属,脂肪酸,和细菌成分,并强调了最近在果蝇味觉细胞中发现的意想不到的受体和信号通路。比较在果蝇中体内如何检测配体的复杂分子和细胞基础,揭示了对味道编码的特异性和混杂受体选择性。在整个审查过程中,我们将这些果蝇的研究结果与哺乳动物的研究进行了比较,不仅强调了这些化学感应系统的保守性,而是为了证明这种模式生物在阐明味觉和进食神经生物学方面的能力。