title: Gustatory receptors required for sensing umbelliferone in Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: Studies of taste modality using the animal model Drosophila melanogaster have elucidated a number of uncharacterized mechanisms of sensory responses. Gustatory receptors expressed in taste organs are not only responsible for the acceptance and rejection of different foods, but are also involved in the process of selecting an oviposition site. This contact-chemosensation is essential for animals to discriminate between nutritious and contaminated foods. In this study, we characterized the function of gustatory receptors that play a dual role in feeding and oviposition using the plant metabolite umbelliferone. The combined electrophysiological and behavioral evidence demonstrated that two broadly tuned gustatory receptors, GR33a and GR66a, and one narrowly tuned gustatory receptor, GR93a, are all required to generate a functional umbelliferone receptor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bio and Fermentation Convergence Technology, Kookmin University, Seoul 136-702, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Poudel
authors.affiliation: Department of Bio and Fermentation Convergence Technology, Kookmin University, Seoul 136-702, South Korea.
authors.forename: Yunjung
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Innovative Special Food, Korea Food Research Institute, Seongnam 463-746, South Korea; Department of Food Biotechnology, Korea University of Science & Technology, Daejeon 305-333, South Korea.
authors.forename: Yun Tai
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Bio and Fermentation Convergence Technology, Kookmin University, Seoul 136-702, South Korea. Electronic address: ylee@kookmin.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Youngseok
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D010058:Oviposition; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology; D014468:Umbelliferones / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D014468:Umbelliferones; C031477:7-hydroxycoumarin
keywords: Aversive behavior; Electrophysiology; GR33a; GR66a; GR93a