GUSTATORY (TASTE)

RECEPTORS

Dr. Rusdi, M.Biomed.

Chemoreceptors, include both receptors that
transmit the total solute concentration of a
solution (osmoreceptors), and specific
receptors that respond to individual kinds of
molecules. For example, many insects have
gustatory hairs (sensilla) on their feet and
mouthparts. Each sensillium contains 4
chemoreceptors, which respond differently to
different chemical stimuli.
The senses of taste and smell rely on similar
sets of sensory receptors

 In terrestrial animals:
 Gustation (taste) is dependent on the detection of
chemicals called tastants
 Olfaction (smell) is dependent on the detection of
odorant molecules
 In aquatic animals there is no distinction between
taste and smell
 Taste receptors of insects are in sensory hairs called
sensilla, located on feet and in mouth parts

Taste
Sense is detected by taste buds
 Papillae
Vallate- 12 form an inverted V at back
Function


of tongue-contain 100-300 taste buds.
 Fungiform- mushroom shaped all over
 Receptors on hairs detect
tongue each has 5 taste buds. dissolved substances
 Foliate- lateral tongue, degenerate in  Adaptation to taste is rapid but
childhood variable based on taste type.
 Filiform- pointed structures with no Taste aversion-type of
taste buds, help tongue to move food in
mouth (friction).
adaptation
 Histology  Taste types
 Support cells  Sour
 Gustatory cells  Salty
 Hairs  Bitter
 Sweet
 Umami (meaty, MSG)
 Taste Buds

• Most of the 10,000 or so taste buds are

found on the tongue
• Taste buds are found in papillae of the
tongue mucosa
• Papillae come in three types: filiform,
fungiform, and circumvallate
• Fungiform and circumvallate papillae contain
taste buds
 Taste Sensations

• There are five basic taste sensations

– Sweet – sugars, saccharin, alcohol, and
some amino acids
– Salt – metal ions
– Sour – hydrogen ions
– Bitter – alkaloids such as quinine and
nicotine
– Umami – elicited by the amino acid
glutamate
 TheTASTE RECEPTORS
sense of taste is mediated by taste receptor cells which are bundled in
clusters called taste buds. Taste receptor cells sample oral concentrations of a
large number of small molecules and report a sensation of taste to centers in
the brainstem. In most animals, including humans, taste buds are most
prevalent on small pegs of epithelium on the tongue called papillae.

When taste cells are stimulated by binding of chemicals to their receptors,

they depolarize and this depolarization is transmitted to the taste nerve fibers
resulting in an action potential that is ultimately transmitted to the brain. One
interesting aspect of this nerve transmission is that it rapidly adapts - after the
initial stimulus, a strong discharge is seen in the taste nerve fibers but within a
few seconds, that response diminishes to a steady-state level of much lower
amplitude.
GUSTATORY (TASTE) RECEPTORS
Papillae and Taste Buds
Taste in Mammals
 In humans, receptor cells for taste are modified
epithelial cells organized into taste buds
 There are five taste perceptions: sweet, sour, salty,
bitter, and umami (elicited by glutamate)
 Each type of taste can be detected in any region of
the tongue
Fig. 50-13
Sugar molecule
G protein
Sweet
receptor

Tongue

Phospholipase C
SENSORY
RECEPTOR
Sugar CELL
Taste pore molecule
Taste Sensory PIP2
bud receptor
cells
IP3
(second
messenger) Sodium
channel
Sensory IP3-gated
neuron calcium
Nucleus
channel

ER Ca2+
(second Na+
messenger)
 When a taste receptor is stimulated, the signal is
transduced to a sensory neuron
 Each taste cell has only one type of receptor
Fig. 50-14

RESULTS
Relative consumption (%)

PBDG receptor
80 expression in cells
for sweet taste
60 No PBDG
receptor gene
40
PBDG receptor
expression in cells
20
for bitter taste
0.1 1 10
Concentration of PBDG (mM); log scale
Actions of Major Tastants
 Neuronal Pathways for Taste
Parietal lobe

Front 2/3 of tongue

Rear 1/3 of tongue

Throat and epipglottis
 PHYSIOLOGY OF GUSTATION
1. Tastant dissolved in saliva
2. binds to gustatory hairs generating a receptor potential that
3. stimulates neurotransmitter secretion
4. Neurotransmitters bind to receptors on the first order sensory neurons that are
postsynaptic to the gustatory receptor cells.

• Receptor potential arises differently for different tastes.

1. Salty taste-Na+ enters the gustatory receptor cells through channels, causes
depolarization, opens Ca2+ channels and triggers neurotransmitter secretion.
2. Sour taste-H+ ions entering H+ channels influencing other channels resulting
in depolarization and neurotransmitter secretion.
3. Sweet, bitter, and umami tastes- tastants bind to G-protein linked receptors
that result in depolarization of the receptor cells and ultimately neurotransmitter
secretion.