INVESTIGADORES
BARROZO Romina Beatriz
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Should I eat or should I not? Bitter perception in a blood-feeding insect
Autor/es:
PONTES, G; ORTEGA INSAURRALDE, I; DE BRITO SANCHEZ, MG; MINOLI, S; BARROZO, RB
Lugar:
Cordoba
Reunión:
Congreso; XXVIII Congreso Annual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigacion en Neurociencias; 2013
Resumen:
Food quality assessment is associated to an animal
decision about feeding or not. Once triatomines reach a potentially suitable
host, they walk over their skin in search of a good quality substrate (skin recognition phase) and then they
pierce the skin until a venule or arteriole is reached. Subsequently they suck
a small quantity of blood initiating the sampling
phase of food. We show here that the fine assessment of gustatory
preferences in triatomines occurs during both, the skin recognition phase and the sampling
phase, independently. Triatomines have taste sensilla localized in the tip
antenna that serve to determine externally the gustatory nature of the
substrate. These taste sensilla showed electrophysiological sensitivity to bitter
compounds like caffeine (CAF) and quinine (QUI). In feeding experiments we
found that by adding CAF or QUI to the membrane of an artificial feeder
offering an appetitive solution prevents insects from feeding. Additionally, the
addition of CAF or QUI into the appetitive solution but not to membrane also
caused an inhibition of the feeding behaviour of bugs. This modulation seems to
occur by means of internal taste receptors placed in their alimentary canal
(the epipharingeal organ). Finally, by applying a cognitive approach, we found
that both, skin recognition and sampling phases, are modulated by experience.
Results presented here highlight the relevance of bitter taste perception in
the modulation of the feeding behaviour of insects.
Financial support by ANPCyT- MinCyt-FONCyT,
CONICET.