Representations of Taste Modality in the Drosophila Brain

David T Harris; Benjamin R Kallman; Brendan C Mullaney; Kristin Scott

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.05.026

Representations of Taste Modality in the Drosophila Brain

Neuron. 2015 Jun 17;86(6):1449-60. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.05.026. Epub 2015 Jun 4.

Authors

David T Harris¹, Benjamin R Kallman², Brendan C Mullaney², Kristin Scott³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
² Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
³ Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: kscott@berkeley.edu.

Abstract

Gustatory receptors and peripheral taste cells have been identified in flies and mammals, revealing that sensory cells are tuned to taste modality across species. How taste modalities are processed in higher brain centers to guide feeding decisions is unresolved. Here, we developed a large-scale calcium-imaging approach coupled with cell labeling to examine how different taste modalities are processed in the fly brain. These studies reveal that sweet, bitter, and water sensory cells activate different cell populations throughout the subesophageal zone, with most cells responding to a single taste modality. Pathways for sweet and bitter tastes are segregated from sensory input to motor output, and this segregation is maintained in higher brain areas, including regions implicated in learning and neuromodulation. Our work reveals independent processing of appetitive and aversive tastes, suggesting that flies and mammals use a similar coding strategy to ensure innate responses to salient compounds.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Video-Audio Media

MeSH terms

Adenosine Triphosphate / pharmacology
Animals
Animals, Genetically Modified
Brain / cytology*
Brain / drug effects
Brain / physiology*
Calcium / metabolism
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Drosophila
Drosophila Proteins / genetics
Epithelial Sodium Channels
Female
GABA Antagonists / pharmacology
Gene Expression Regulation / drug effects
Gene Expression Regulation / genetics
Neurons / drug effects
Neurons / physiology*
Organophosphorus Compounds / pharmacology
Receptors, Cell Surface / metabolism
Receptors, Purinergic P2X2 / metabolism
Signal Transduction / drug effects
Signal Transduction / physiology
Sucrose / pharmacology
Sweetening Agents / pharmacology
Taste / drug effects
Taste / physiology*

Substances

Drosophila Proteins
Epithelial Sodium Channels
GABA Antagonists
Organophosphorus Compounds
PPK28 protein, Drosophila
Receptors, Cell Surface
Receptors, Purinergic P2X2
Sweetening Agents
3-aminopropyl(methyl)phosphinic acid
Sucrose
Adenosine Triphosphate
Calcium

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding