ABSTRACT
For most insects, including Drosophila, the ability to detect chemical cues from the environment is vital for survival. Gustation, or the sense of taste, is crucial to flies for finding high-quality food sources and avoiding poisonous compounds (Dethier, 1976). Evidence suggests that taste is also essential in fruit flies for pheromone detection during courtship behaviors and possibly for oviposition (Jallon, 1984; Tompkins, 1984; Hall, 1994; Stocker, 1994). Despite its importance, little is known
about the basic principles of taste perception. Major questions concerning how chemical cues are converted to electrical impulses, how gustatory information is encoded, and how central processing of gustatory input leads to appropriate behaviors remain unresolved.
