QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, June 7, 2006, 26(23):6143-6152; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0857-06.2006

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental data Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ueno, K. Articles by Kidokoro, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ueno, K. Articles by Kidokoro, Y.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Cellular/Molecular
Gs Is Involved in Sugar Perception in Drosophila melanogaster

Kohei Ueno,¹ Soh Kohatsu,³ Catherine Clay,⁴ Michael Forte,⁴ Kunio Isono,³ and Yoshiaki Kidokoro^1,2

¹Department of Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, and ²Institute for Molecular and Cellular Regulation, Gunma University, Maebashi 371-8511, Japan, ³Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan, and ⁴Vollum Institute of Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon 97239

Correspondence should be addressed to Kohei Ueno, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma University, Maebashi 371-8511, Japan. Email: kueno{at}med.gunma-u.ac.jp

In Drosophila melanogaster, gustatory receptor genes (Grs) encode G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) and some olfactory receptor neurons. One of the Gr genes, Gr5a, encodes a sugar receptor that is expressed in a subset of GRNs and has been most extensively studied both molecularly and physiologically, but the G-protein subunit (G) that is coupled to this sugar receptor remains unknown. Here, we propose that Gs is the G that is responsible for Gr5a-mediated sugar-taste transduction, based on the following findings: First, immunoreactivities against Gs were detected in a subset of GRNs including all Gr5a-expressing neurons. Second, trehalose-intake is reduced in flies heterozygous for null mutations in DGs, a homolog of mammalian Gs, and trehalose-induced electrical activities in sugar-sensitive GRNs were depressed in those flies. Furthermore, expression of wild-type DGs in sugar-sensitive GRNs in heterozygotic DGs mutant flies rescued those impairments. Third, expression of double-stranded RNA for DGs in sugar-sensitive GRNs depressed both behavioral and electrophysiological responses to trehalose. Together, these findings indicate that DGs is involved in trehalose perception. We suggest that sugar-taste signals are processed through the Gs-mediating signal transduction pathway in sugar-sensitive GRNs in Drosophila.

Key words: gustatory receptor; Gs; Drosophila melanogaster; sweet taste; trehalose; cAMP transduction pathway

---

Received Oct. 16, 2005; revised April 14, 2006; accepted April 15, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Kohei Ueno, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma University, Maebashi 371-8511, Japan. Email: kueno{at}med.gunma-u.ac.jp

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help