Bitter compounds and Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila is a model insect which benefits from a number of genetic tools to perform
transgenesis. We combine these tools with physiological and behavioral
approaches to understand how bitter stimuli are detected and
encoded by their taste system.
The current working hypothesis is that taste
cells encode aversive stimuli and appetitive stimuli within separate
populations of cells. However, we also find that sugar-sensitive neurons
are very sensitive to some bitter chemicals which can inhitit their
activity.
Electrophysiology and behavior
As for electrophysiology, we use mostly the tip-recording technique (see
here) to record extracellularly from taste sensilla of the proboscis
or of the legs of Drosophila adults. We have developed a
specialized amplifier to record from them (tastePROBE
in collaboration with Syntech) and software tools to analyze them (dbWave).
As for behavior, we use a number of different approaches: binary feeding
choices (blue/red wells), proboscis
extension (one or two-sided), and capillary
feeding (CAFE assay) which allows to quantify how much flies are
feeding.
|
When the left leg is stimulated with
sugar and the right one with a bitter compound like quinine, the proboscis extension reflex
is inhibited. This is taken as an indication that quinine-sensitive taste neurons are
stimulated and inhibit the behavior induced by sugar-sensitive taste
neurons. |
 |
Taste cells are
housed in taste sensilla (looking like hairs) on the legs, on the proboscis
and on the wing margins. Electrophysiological techniques
demonstrate that one taste neurone (here in red) is activated in the
presence of quinine. The other neurons (grey color) are slightly
inhibited. See how we proceed to do tip-recording from the
proboscis here (pictures taken by
Marie-Jeanne Sellier, 2009). |
Current projects
- 2009-2012: Impact of caffeine diet on flies [PhD thesis A.
Guigue; co-tutor: Aurélie Hua-Van, Orsay University, ANR ADAPTANTHROP]
- 2011-2014: Physiology of the detection of L-canavanine [PhD
thesis M. Ali-Agha; co-tutor: Laurent Soustelle, CNRS, Montpellier]
- 2011-2014: How binary mixtures of sugar and bitter are detected [PhD thesis Alice
French, ABIES]
- 2013-2015: Taste sensing of complex mixtures [Postdoc Aniruddha
Mitra, Marie Curie grant TASTEVOL]
Collaborations
- Yves Grau & Laurent Soustelle, CNRS Montpellier
- Pierre Capy [Orsay University, Gif], Cristina Veira [CNRS, Lyon]
Papers
- Inoshita T., Martin J.-R., Marion-Poll F., Ferveur J.-F. (2011) Peripheral,
central and behavioral responses to the cuticular pheromone bouquet in
Drosophila melanogaster males. PLoS ONE 6(5): e19770.
- Sellier M.-J., Reeb P., Marion-Poll F. 2010 - Consumption of bitter
alkaloids in Drosophila melanogaster in multiple choice test
conditions. Chemical Senses
36 (4): 323-334.
- Meunier N., Marion-Poll F., Lucas P. (2009) - Water-taste transduction pathway
is calcium-dependent in Drosophila. Chemical Senses 34 (5):
441-449.
- Hiroi M., Tanimura T., Marion-Poll F. 2008 - Hedonic taste in
Drosophila revealed by olfactory receptors expressed in taste neurons. PLoS
ONE 3 (7): e2610 [web page].
- Lacaille F., Hiroi M., Twele R., Inoshita T., Umemoto D., Maniere G.,
Marion-Poll F., Ozaki M., Francke W., Cobb M., Everaerts C., Tanimura T.,
Ferveur J.-F. 2007 - An inhibitory sex pheromone tastes bitter for
Drosophila males. PLoS ONE 2:e661 [in
line].
- Hiroi M., Meunier N., Marion-Poll F., Tanimura T., 2004 - Two
Antagonistic Gustatory Receptor Neurons Responding to Sweet-Salty and Bitter
Taste in Drosophila. Journal of Neurobiology 61(3): 333-342. [pdf].
- Meunier N., Marion-Poll F., Lansky P., Rospars J.-P., 2003 - Estimation
of the individual firing frequencies of two neurons recorded with a single
electrode. Chemical Senses 28 (8): 671-679.
- Meunier N., Marion-Poll F., Rospars J.-P., Tanimura T., 2003 - Coding of
bitter taste in Drosophila. Journal of Neurobiology 56 (2)
139-152. [abstract]
- Hiroi M., Marion-Poll F., Tanimura T., 2002 - Differentiated response to
sugars among labellar chemosensilla in Drosophila. Zoological
Science 19 (9) 1009-1018
- Meunier N., Ferveur J.F.F., Marion-Poll F., 2000 - Sex-specific non-pheromonal
taste receptors in Drosophila. Current Biology 10 (24):
1583-1586 [abstract]
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19/01/2014