Bantel Andrew P, Tessier Charles R
Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend.
Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend;
J Vis Exp. 2016 Sep 8(115):54403. doi: 10.3791/54403.
Olfactory and gustatory perception of the environment is vital for animal survival. The most obvious application of these chemosenses is to be able to distinguish good food sources from potentially dangerous food sources. Gustation requires physical contact with a chemical compound which is able to signal through taste receptors that are expressed on the surface of neurons. In insects, these gustatory neurons can be located across the animal's body allowing taste to play an important role in many different behaviors. Insects typically prefer compounds containing sugars, while compounds that are considered bitter tasting are avoided. Given the basic biological importance of taste, there is intense interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying this sensory modality. We describe an adult Drosophila taste assay which reflects the preference of the animals for a given tastant compound. This assay may be applied to animals of any genetic background to examine the taste preference for a desired soluble compound.
对环境的嗅觉和味觉感知对动物生存至关重要。这些化学感官最明显的应用是能够区分优质食物来源和潜在危险食物来源。味觉需要与一种化合物进行物理接触，这种化合物能够通过神经元表面表达的味觉受体发出信号。在昆虫中，这些味觉神经元可以分布在动物身体各处，使味觉在许多不同行为中发挥重要作用。昆虫通常更喜欢含糖的化合物，而会避开被认为有苦味的化合物。鉴于味觉的基本生物学重要性，人们对理解这种感觉方式背后的分子机制有着浓厚兴趣。我们描述了一种成年果蝇味觉测定法，该方法反映了动物对给定味觉化合物的偏好。这种测定法可应用于任何遗传背景的动物，以检查对所需可溶性化合物的味觉偏好。
