麻豆淫院

A study led by Nikita Komarov and Simon Sprecher at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, has discovered neurons in the fly larva mouth that allow the taste of food texture.

Published in the open-access journal on Jan. 30, the study found that the fly peripheral taste organ has neurons with texture-tasting mechanoreceptors that derive their ability from the painless gene.

Most research on food sensation has focused on tastes like sweetness or saltiness. But preferences for food often depend on their texture; some might like the flavor of mushrooms, but not the rubbery feeling in their mouths.

While tasting flavors requires chemical sensation, tasting texture requires mechanical sensation, and it is unclear whether taste organs like the tongue have this capacity. The new study addressed this issue in fruit fly larvae, commonly called maggots, because of the simplicity of their nervous system and the available genetic tools.

The researchers established that maggots will not eat food that is too hard or too soft, but if it is just right鈥攃orresponding to days-old decaying fruit鈥攖hey dig in. Hypothesizing that this ability to sense food texture takes place in the peripheral taste organs, the researchers selectively disabled taste neurons in the larva's mouth.

As a result, the maggots lost their sense of taste texture and tried eating food that was softer or harder than their usual preference. Further experiments revealed that the painless mechanoreceptor gene is required for this sense.

Lastly, they found that the C6 neuron in the maggot taste organ can sense both sugar and mechanical stimulation, meaning that the same neuron can taste food texture and food substance. Taste sensation and signal integration is thus quite different from other systems, and investigations beyond fruit flies are needed to fully understand taste perception in mammals, including humans.

The authors add, "Food texture remains a neglected attribute of overall food fitness. We find鈥攚ith the power of Drosophila genetics鈥攖hat at least the hardness of food is a crucial aspect of the overall gustatory profile. Excitingly, the same neurons that sense chemicals in the taste system can in some cases sense texture."