Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Departments of Neurobiology and Neurosciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0649, USA.
The emerging picture of taste coding at the periphery is one of elegant simplicity. Contrary to what was generally believed, it is now clear that distinct cell types expressing unique receptors are tuned to detect each of the five basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. Importantly, receptor cells for each taste quality function as dedicated sensors wired to elicit stereotypic responses.