Article Synopsis
- Animals can assess sugar's nutritional value without needing to taste it, as shown in a study of a Drosophila mutant that only reacts to sweetness levels.
- The mutant has a defective gene called SLC5A11 (or cupcake), which resembles proteins that help transport sugar in mammals.
- This gene is mainly active in specific brain neurons, suggesting its role in helping animals choose the right food based on nutritional content.
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Article Abstract
Animals can determine the nutritional value of sugar without the influence of taste. We examined a Drosophila mutant that is insensitive to the nutritional value of sugars, responding only to the concentration (that is, sweetness). The affected gene encodes a sodium/solute co-transporter-like protein, designated SLC5A11 (or cupcake), which is structurally similar to mammalian sodium/glucose co-transporters that transport sugar across the intestinal and renal lumen. However, SLC5A11 was prominently expressed in 10-13 pairs of R4 neurons of the ellipsoid body in the brain and functioned in these neurons for selecting appropriate foods.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3637869 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn.3372 | DOI Listing |
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- The mutant has a defective gene called SLC5A11 (or cupcake), which resembles proteins that help transport sugar in mammals.
- This gene is mainly active in specific brain neurons, suggesting its role in helping animals choose the right food based on nutritional content.
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