The evolution of sweet taste perception in birds

Talk Maude Baldwin, Seewiesen

  • Datum: 12.11.2015
  • Uhrzeit: 13:00 - 14:00
  • Vortragende(r): Maude Baldwin, PhD
  • Research Group Evolution of the sense of taste in birds
  • Ort: Seewiesen
  • Raum: Seminar Room, House 4, Tea & Coffee 12:30, Videoconference to Radolfzell
Taste is a crucial sense: it allows animals to select food that is nutritious, and to avoid potential toxins. Most mammals perceive and are attracted to (if not hooked on) sugars, yet the evolutionary history of sweet perception in vertebrates is not straightforward. Studying the sense of taste in a comparative framework can provide insight into questions about the evolution and function of sensory systems and shed light on basic mechanisms of the evolutionary process. Birds appear to taste sweet in a different way than mammals do. Following an early loss of the vertebrate sweet receptor, hummingbirds re-evolved a new carbohydrate sensor, using the savory, or umami receptor, instead. Multiple other radiations of birds are fruit- or nectar-feeding and are likely sensitive to sugar, yet how they detect carbohydrates is unknown. In our group we will examine the mechanisms by which birds perceive sweet and will investigate the extent of convergent evolution; in addition, we are looking at the origin of sweet taste in vertebrates in a broader phylogenetic context. We use an integrative approach, combining molecular and cell-culture techniques with behavioral studies. In addition, we will develop new tools to probe the function and evolution of the taste system in birds and to examine the effects of diet shifts on organismal ecology and physiology.
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