Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Zhang YV
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4990472 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Zhang Yali V YV Aikin Timothy J TJ Li Zhengzheng Z Montell Craig C
Neuron 20160728 4
Food texture has enormous effects on food preferences. However, the mechanosensory cells and key molecules responsible for sensing the physical properties of food are unknown. Here, we show that akin to mammals, the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, prefers food with a specific hardness or viscosity. This food texture discrimination depends upon a previously unknown multidendritic (md-L) neuron, which extends elaborate dendritic arbors innervating the bases of taste hairs. The md-L neurons exh ...[more]