The taste system of small fish species

Figures & data

Fig. 1. The clear segregation of zfT1R and zfT2R5 expression in zebrafish taste buds strongly suggests a conserved mechanism among vertebrate species, whereby taste modalities are defined by the taste receptor cell types responding to the tastants.

Fig. 2. Fluorescently labeled artificial foods for small fish. A. Observation of the foods. Artificial foods containing a taste substance and a fluorescent dye (DiI) are grinded to a fine powder. B and C. Images of a 20-dpf fish fed the fluorescently labeled food. Bright-field images (B) and fluorescence images (C) are shown. The red fluorescence derived from DiI was detected in the gut.

Fig. 3. Schematic of WGA transport in 9 month-old transgenic fish. Transgene-expressed WGA proteins in plc-β2-positive taste bud cells (pink box) were transported to the taste nerves (green boxes) and the brain. WGA-positive (black arrowheads) and WGA-negative (white arrowheads) neurons were detected in the facial (VIIg), glossopharyngeal (IXg), and vagal (Xg) ganglia of taste neurons (green box). WGA-positive neurons were also detected in the facial lobe (VIIL) and the vagal lobe (XL) in the medulla (orange boxes), the secondary gustatory nucleus (NGS) in the midbrain (purple box), the preglomerular tertiary gustatory nucleus (pTGN) and the diffuse nucleus of the inferior lobe (NDLI) in the hypothalamus (blue boxes), the ventral region of the Dm (vDm), and the ventral region of the Dl (lateral part of the dorsal telencephalic area [vDl]) in the endbrain (black boxes). The likely pathways of WGA transport are indicated by gray arrows and lines.¹⁶⁾

Ieki T, Okada S, Aihara Y, Ohmoto M, Abe K, Yasuoka A, Misaka T. Transgenic labeling of higher order neuronal circuits linked to phospholipase C-β2-expressing taste bud cells in medaka fish. J. Comp. Neurol. 2013;521:1781–1802.10.1002/cne.23256

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