Dataset Information

Heterogeneous expression of Drosophila gustatory receptors in enteroendocrine cells.

ABSTRACT: The gastrointestinal tract is emerging as a major site of chemosensation in mammalian studies. Enteroendocrine cells are chemosensory cells in the gut which produce regulatory peptides in response to luminal contents to regulate gut physiology, food intake, and glucose homeostasis, among other possible functions. Increasing evidence shows that mammalian taste receptors and taste signaling molecules are expressed in enteroendocrine cells in the gut. Invertebrate models such as Drosophila can provide a simple and genetically tractable system to study the chemosensory functions of enteroendocrine cells in vivo. To establish Drosophila enteroendocrine cells as a model for studying gut chemosensation, we used the GAL4/UAS system to examine the expression of all 68 Gustatory receptors (Grs) in the intestine. We find that 12 Gr-GAL4 drivers label subsets of enteroendocrine cells in the midgut, and examine colocalization of these drivers with the regulatory peptides neuropeptide F (NPF), locustatachykinin (LTK), and diuretic hormone 31 (DH31). RT-PCR analysis provides additional evidence for the presence of Gr transcripts in the gut. Our results suggest that the Drosophila Grs have chemosensory roles in the intestine to regulate physiological functions such as food uptake, nutrient absorption, or sugar homeostasis.

SUBMITTER: Park JH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3237578 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Heterogeneous expression of Drosophila gustatory receptors in enteroendocrine cells.

Park Jeong-Ho JH Kwon Jae Young JY

PloS one 20111214 12

The gastrointestinal tract is emerging as a major site of chemosensation in mammalian studies. Enteroendocrine cells are chemosensory cells in the gut which produce regulatory peptides in response to luminal contents to regulate gut physiology, food intake, and glucose homeostasis, among other possible functions. Increasing evidence shows that mammalian taste receptors and taste signaling molecules are expressed in enteroendocrine cells in the gut. Invertebrate models such as Drosophila can prov ...[more]

PMID: 22194978

Similar Datasets

Project description:Secondary plant compounds are strong deterrents of insect oviposition and feeding, but may also be attractants for specialist herbivores. These insect-plant interactions are mediated by insect gustatory receptors (Grs) and olfactory receptors (Ors). An analysis of the reference genome of the butterfly Heliconius melpomene, which feeds on passion-flower vines (Passiflora spp.), together with whole-genome sequencing within the species and across the Heliconius phylogeny has permitted an unprecedented opportunity to study the patterns of gene duplication and copy-number variation (CNV) among these key sensory genes. We report in silico gene predictions of 73 Gr genes in the H. melpomene reference genome, including putative CO2, sugar, sugar alcohol, fructose, and bitter receptors. The majority of these Grs are the result of gene duplications since Heliconius shared a common ancestor with the monarch butterfly or the silkmoth. Among Grs but not Ors, CNVs are more common within species in those gene lineages that have also duplicated over this evolutionary time-scale, suggesting ongoing rapid gene family evolution. Deep sequencing (?1 billion reads) of transcriptomes from proboscis and labial palps, antennae, and legs of adult H. melpomene males and females indicates that 67 of the predicted 73 Gr genes and 67 of the 70 predicted Or genes are expressed in these three tissues. Intriguingly, we find that one-third of all Grs show female-biased gene expression (n?=?26) and nearly all of these (n?=?21) are Heliconius-specific Grs. In fact, a significant excess of Grs that are expressed in female legs but not male legs are the result of recent gene duplication. This difference in Gr gene expression diversity between the sexes is accompanied by a striking sexual dimorphism in the abundance of gustatory sensilla on the forelegs of H. melpomene, suggesting that female oviposition behaviour drives the evolution of new gustatory receptors in butterfly genomes.

Dataset Information

Heterogeneous expression of Drosophila gustatory receptors in enteroendocrine cells.

Publications

Heterogeneous expression of Drosophila gustatory receptors in enteroendocrine cells.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets