Gαo is required for L-canavanine detection in Drosophila

PLoS One. 2013 May 6;8(5):e63484. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063484. Print 2013.

Abstract

Taste is an essential sense for the survival of most organisms. In insects, taste is particularly important as it allows to detect and avoid ingesting many plant toxins, such as L-canavanine. We previously showed that L-canavanine is toxic for Drosophila melanogaster and that flies are able to detect this toxin in the food. L-canavanine is a ligand of DmXR, a variant G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) belonging to the metabotropic glutamate receptor subfamily that is expressed in bitter-sensitive taste neurons of Drosophila. To transduce the signal intracellularly, GPCR activate heterotrimeric G proteins constituted of α, β and γ subunits. The aim of this study was to identify which Gα protein was required for L-canavanine detection in Drosophila. By using a pharmacological approach, we first demonstrated that DmXR has the best coupling with Gαo protein subtype. Then, by using genetic, behavioral assays and electrophysiology, we found that Gαo47A is required in bitter-sensitive taste neurons for L-canavanine sensitivity. In conclusion, our study revealed that Gαo47A plays a crucial role in L-canavanine detection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Canavanine / metabolism*
  • Chemoreceptor Cells / metabolism
  • Conserved Sequence
  • Drosophila Proteins / metabolism
  • Drosophila melanogaster / metabolism*
  • GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go / antagonists & inhibitors
  • GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go / physiology*
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Pertussis Toxin / pharmacology
  • RNA Interference
  • Taste

Substances

  • DmX protein, Drosophila
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Canavanine
  • Pertussis Toxin
  • GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go

Grants and funding

ID was supported by a fellowship from the French Ministry of Research and Technology. MAA was funded by a grant from the Syrian government. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.