Basic science How we make food choices: a tale of taste Bertolini E, Münch D, Pascual J, et al . Evolution of taste processing shifts dietary preference.
Nature 2026; 6498097,: 657 - 666. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09766-6.
The role of peripherally mediated taste perception in the evolution of food choices is recognised, but little is understood about its central processing and the mechanisms that lead to changes in dietary preference. Drosophila's labellum, proboscis, legs, wings and pharynx gustatory sensory neurons (GNS) send central signals to the suboesophageal zone (SEZ) in the brain with spatial separation, similarly to humans.
In this study, Bertolini et al used three Drosophila species: Drosophila sechellai (Dsec - an exclusive noni feeder), Drosophila melanogaster (DMel - a preferential grape feeder) and Drosophila simulans (a generic feeder) and removed their antennae (olfactory contribution); this changed only Dsec's behaviour. In Dmel, when sugar-sensing (Gr64f, Gustatory receptor for sugar taste 64f) and bitter-sensing (Gr66a, Gustatory receptor...
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