Gustatory system articles within Nature

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    A study reports structures of an insect taste receptor in the absence and presence of different sugars, providing details on the molecular basis of sugar detection and selectivity in insects.

    • João Victor Gomes
    • , Shivinder Singh-Bhagania
    •  & Joel A. Butterwick

  • Article |

    High-resolution volumetric calcium imaging was used to create a functional atlas of the Drosophila melanogaster ventral brain and identify how and where metabolic and reproductive states alter processing of food-related sensory stimuli.

    • Daniel Münch
    • , Dennis Goldschmidt
    •  & Carlos Ribeiro

  • Letter |

    The identity and hedonic value of tastes are encoded in distinct neural substrates; in mice, the amygdala is necessary and sufficient to drive valence-specific behaviours in response to bitter or sweet taste stimuli, and the cortex can independently represent taste identity.

    • Li Wang
    • , Sarah Gillis-Smith
    •  & Charles S. Zuker

  • Letter |

    Taste-receptor cells use distinct semaphorins to guide wiring of the peripheral taste system; targeted ectopic expression of SEMA3A or SEMA7A leads to bitter neurons responding to sweet tastes or sweet neurons responding to bitter tastes.

    • Hojoon Lee
    • , Lindsey J. Macpherson
    •  & Nicholas J. P. Ryba

  • Letter |

    Activation of the sweet and bitter cortical fields in awake mice evokes predetermined behavioural programs, independent of learning and experience, illustrating the hardwired and innate nature of the sense of taste.

    • Yueqing Peng
    • , Sarah Gillis-Smith
    •  & Charles S. Zuker

  • Letter |

    It has been suggested that the negative effects on bees of neonicotinoid pesticides could be averted in field conditions if they chose not to forage on treated nectar; here field-level neonicotinoid doses are used in laboratory experiments to show that honeybees and bumblebees do not avoid neonicotinoid-treated food and instead actually prefer it.

    • Sébastien C. Kessler
    • , Erin Jo Tiedeken
    •  & Geraldine A. Wright

  • Letter |

    Using two-photon microendoscopy and genetically encoded calcium indicators the tuning properties of the first neural station of the gustatory system are explored; results reveal that ganglion neurons are matched to specific taste receptor cells, supporting a labelled line model of information transfer in the taste system.

    • Robert P. J. Barretto
    • , Sarah Gillis-Smith
    •  & Charles S. Zuker

  • Letter |

    High concentrations of salt activate sour- and bitter-taste-sensing cells in the tongues of mice, and genetic silencing of these pathways abolishes behavioural aversion to concentrated salt; this ‘co-opting’ of the two primary aversive taste pathways (sour and bitter) may have evolved so that high salt levels reliably trigger behavioural rejection.

    • Yuki Oka
    • , Matthew Butnaru
    •  & Charles S. Zuker

  • Outlook |

    Artificial tongues that mimic the human sensory experience could aid the development of better and more consistently flavoured foods.

    • Neil Savage

  • Outlook |

    Is flavour an intrinsic objective property, or a subjective experience that varies from person to person? Barry Smith sorts out the implications.

    • Barry Smith

  • Outlook |

    Scientists and psychologists are trying to trick our mouths and minds into enjoying foods that are better for us.

    • Lauren Gravitz

  • Outlook |

    As more receptors are defined, researchers will further unlock the mechanics of taste. How the mind perceives these sensory signals is another matter.

    • Bijal P. Trivedi

  • Outlook |

    Many vertebrates can detect the same five basic tastes that humans can, but there are exceptions. Are the differences caused by a change in diet?

    • Ewen Callaway

  • Letter |

    Mammals are repelled by large concentrations of salts but attracted to low concentrations of sodium. In mice, the latter behaviour can be blocked by the ion channel inhibitor amiloride. Here, mice have been produced lacking the drug's target sodium channel, ENaC, specifically in taste receptor neurons. It is confirmed that sodium sensing, like the four other taste modalities (sweet, sour, bitter and umami), is mediated by a dedicated 'labelled line'.

    • Jayaram Chandrashekar
    • , Christina Kuhn
    •  & Charles S. Zuker

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