Chemical sensing in Drosophila.
Chemical sensing begins when peripheral receptor proteins recognise specific environmental stimuli and translate them into spatial and temporal patterns of sensory neuron activity. The chemosensory system of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has become a dominant model to understand this process, through its accessibility to a powerful combination of molecular, genetic and electrophysiological analysis. Recent results have revealed many surprises in the biology of peripheral chemosensation in Drosophila, including novel structural and signalling properties of the insect odorant receptors (ORs), combinatorial mechanisms of chemical recognition by the gustatory receptors (GRs), and the implication of Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) ion channels as a novel class of chemosensory receptors.
Benton
Richard
R
Center for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Richard.Benton@unil.ch
D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D004594:Electrophysiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D018035:Receptors, Odorant; C405956:gustatory receptor, Drosophila