Université de Fribourg

Nutritional value–Dependent and nutritional value–Independent effects on Drosophila melanogaster larval behavior

Rohwedder, Astrid ; Pfitzenmaier, Johanna E. ; Ramsperger, Noel ; Apostolopoulou, Anthi A. ; Widmann, Annekathrin ; Thum, Andreas S.

In: Chemical Senses, 2012, vol. 37, no. 8, p. 711-721

Gustatory stimuli allow an organism not only to orient in its environment toward energy-rich food sources to maintain nutrition but also to avoid unpleasant or even poisonous substrates. For both mammals and insects, sugars—perceived as “sweet”—potentially predict nutritional benefit. Interestingly, even Drosophila adult flies are attracted to most high-potency sweeteners preferred by...