RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Temporal responses of bumblebee gustatory neurons to sugars
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2022.02.28.482341
DO 10.1101/2022.02.28.482341
A1 Rachel H. Parkinson
A1 Sébastien C. Kessler
A1 Jennifer Scott
A1 Alexander Simpson
A1 Jennifer Bu
A1 Adam Mahdi
A1 Ashwin Miriyala
A1 Geraldine A. Wright
YR 2022
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/05/03/2022.02.28.482341.abstract
AB The sense of taste permits the recognition of valuable nutrients and the avoidance of potential toxins. Models of gustatory coding propose that within modalities (e.g. sweet, bitter, etc.), taste ligands are not distinct stimuli. However, these models are based on data from mice or flies that have omnivorous, non-specialist diets. A specialist feeder might, however, be expected to have acuity within modality if stimulus resolution was critical to survival. Previously, we found that bumblebees have a specialized mechanism for sensing sugars whereby two gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) within the galeal sensilla of the bees’ mouthparts exhibit burst of spikes. Here, we show that the temporal firing patterns of these GRNs separate sugars into four distinct groups that correlate with sugar nutritional value and palatability. We also identified a third GRN that responded to stimulation with relatively high concentrations of fructose, sucrose, and maltose. Sugars that were non-metabolizable or toxic suppressed the responses of bursting GRNs to sucrose. These abilities to encode information about sugar value are a refinement to the bumblebee’s sense of sweet taste that could be an adaptation that enables precise calculations of the nature and nutritional value of floral nectar.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.