title: Labeling and analysis of chicken taste buds using molecular markers in oral epithelial sheets.
abstract: In chickens, the sensory organs for taste are the taste buds in the oral cavity, of which there are ~240-360 in total number as estimated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). There is not an easy way to visualize all taste buds in chickens. Here, we report a highly efficient method for labeling chicken taste buds in oral epithelial sheets using the molecular markers Vimentin and α-Gustducin. Immediate tissue fixation following incubation with sub-epithelially injected proteases enabled us to peel off whole epithelial sheets, leaving the shape and integrity of the tissue intact. In the peeled epithelial sheets, taste buds labeled with antibodies against Vimentin and α-Gustducin were easily identified and counted under a light microscope and many more taste buds, patterned in rosette-like clusters, were found than previously reported with SEM. Broiler-type, female-line males have more taste buds than other groups and continue to increase the number of taste buds over stages after hatch. In addition to ovoid-shaped taste buds, big tube-shaped taste buds were observed in the chicken using 2-photon microscopy. Our protocol for labeling taste buds with molecular markers will factilitate future mechanistic studies on the development of chicken taste buds in association with their feeding behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Bioscience Center, Department of Animal and Dairy Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Prasangi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rajapaksha
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Bioscience Center, Department of Animal and Dairy Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Zhonghou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Bioscience Center, Department of Animal and Dairy Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Nandakumar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Venkatesan
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Bioscience Center, Department of Animal and Dairy Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Kayvan F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Tehrani
authors.affiliation: Department of Poultry Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Bioscience Center, Department of Animal and Dairy Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Raymond L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Swetenburg
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Functional Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Fuminori
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kawabata
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Functional Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Bioscience Center, Department of Animal and Dairy Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.|College of Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Luke J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Mortensen
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Bioscience Center, Department of Animal and Dairy Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Steven L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Stice
authors.affiliation: Department of Poultry Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beckstead
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Bioscience Center, Department of Animal and Dairy Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Hong-Xiang
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030161:Avian Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002645:Chickens / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013650:Taste Buds / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D015293:Transducin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D030161:Avian Proteins; D014746:Vimentin; C075192:gustducin; D015293:Transducin