Journal
OPEN BIOLOGY
Volume 3, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rsob.130015
Keywords
taste; evolution; purinergic signalling; ENTPDase; Schreiner organ; solitary chemosensory cell
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [RO1 DC007495, RO1 DC009820, P30 DC04657]
- Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan [22580205]
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [22580205] Funding Source: KAKEN
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Taste buds are gustatory endorgans which use an uncommon purinergic signalling system to transmit information to afferent gustatory nerve fibres. In mammals, ATP is a crucial neurotransmitter released by the taste cells to activate the afferent nerve fibres. Taste buds in mammals display a characteristic, highly specific ecto-ATPase (NTPDase2) activity, suggesting a role in inactivation of the neurotransmitter. The purpose of this study was to test whether the presence of markers of purinergic signalling characterize taste buds in ana-mniote vertebrates and to test whether similar purinergic systems are employed by other exteroceptive chemosensory systems. The species examined include several teleosts, elasmobranchs, lampreys and hagfish, the last of which lacks vertebrate-type taste buds. For comparison, Schreiner organs of hagfish and solitary chemosensory cells (SCCs) of teleosts, both of which are epidermal chemosensory end organs, were also examined because they might be evolutionarily related to taste buds. Ecto-ATPase activity was evident in elongate cells in all fish taste buds, including teleosts, elasmobranchs and lampreys. Neither SCCs nor Schreiner organs show specific ecto-ATPase activity, suggesting that purinergic signalling is not crucial in those systems as it is for taste buds. These findings suggest that the taste system did not originate from SCCs but arose independently in early vertebrates.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available