Grant: Project Grant

Sour taste is the detection of acid, yet different acids can taste distinct. Lactic acid is particularly notable because it imparts a relatively mild sour taste (and 'sweet' smell) to humans, but is also a metabolic product that carries important information for other animals. For example, the presence of lactic acid may tell a fly what types of bacteria are growing on some rotting fruit. It is also present in sweat and is a well-known attractant for blood-feeding mosquitoes. In this proposal, we use the well-established and powerful fruit fly model system to dissect the cells and molecules responsible for lactic acid taste. We then translate our findings into Aedes aegypti - mosquitoes that infect millions of people each year with deadly diseases like Dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and West Nile virus - with the goal of understanding how lactic acid influences blood feeding, thereby enabling new strategies for deterring mosquitoes from biting humans and reducing mosquito-borne disease transmission. Finally, we use the unique properties of acid taste in flies to investigate how the brain encodes the timing of taste information during feeding. Since the principles of sensory coding are similar between flies and mammals, and taste is critical in driving feeding, this will provide fundamental insight into how we decide what, and how much, we eat.