Ir56d-dependent fatty acid responses in Drosophila uncover taste discrimination between different classes of fatty acids.

ABSTRACT: Chemosensory systems are critical for evaluating the caloric value and potential toxicity of food. While animals can discriminate between thousands of odors, much less is known about the discriminative capabilities of taste systems. Fats and sugars represent calorically potent and attractive food sources that contribute to hedonic feeding. Despite the differences in nutritional value between fats and sugars, the ability of the taste system to discriminate between different rewarding tastants is thought to be limited. In Drosophila, taste neurons expressing the ionotropic receptor 56d (IR56d) are required for reflexive behavioral responses to the medium-chain fatty acid, hexanoic acid. Here, we tested whether flies can discriminate between different classes of fatty acids using an aversive

SUBMITTER: Brown EB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8169106 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature