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Architecture of the primary taste center of Drosophila melanogaster larvae

  • Colomb, Julien Department of Biology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Fribourg, Switzerland - Gènes et Dynamique des Systèmes de Mémoire, CNRS UMR 7637, Paris, France
  • Grillenzoni, Nicola Department of Biology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Ramaekers, Ariane Department of Biology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Stocker, Reinhard F. Department of Biology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
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    13.04.2007
Published in:
  • The Journal of Comparative Neurology. - 2007, vol. 502, no. 5, p. 834-837
Insects
Anatomy
Gustatory coding
English A simple nervous system combined with stereotypic behavioral responses to tastants, together with powerful genetic and molecular tools, have turned Drosophila larvae into a very promising model for studying gustatory coding. Using the Gal4/UAS system and confocal microscopy for visualizing gustatory afferents, we provide a description of the primary taste center in the larval central nervous system. Essentially, gustatory receptor neurons target different areas of the subesophageal ganglion (SOG), depending on their segmental and sensory organ origin. We define two major and two smaller subregions in the SOG. One of the major areas is a target of pharyngeal sensilla, the other one receives inputs from both internal and external sensilla. In addition to such spatial organization of the taste center, circumstantial evidence suggests a subtle functional organization: aversive and attractive stimuli might be processed in the anterior and posterior part of the SOG, respectively. Our results also suggest less coexpression of gustatory receptors than proposed in prior studies. Finally, projections of putative second-order taste neurons seem to cover large areas of the SOG. These neurons may thus receive multiple gustatory inputs. This suggests broad sensitivity of secondary taste neurons, reminiscent of the situation in mammals.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences et de médecine
Department
Département de Biologie
Language
  • English
Classification
Biological sciences
License
License undefined
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/300430
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