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| Poster #226 Mechanism of sweet taste plasticity in response to a high-sugar diet |
| Hayeon Sung & Monica Dus University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States |
A chronic high-sugar diet reduces sweet neural responses, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We investigated Activity-Regulated Cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc1), a regulator of neural plasticity known for its roles in synaptic protein localization, transcription regulation, and intercellular signaling using Drosophila melanogaster. Translating Ribosome Affinity Purification (TRAP) sequencing data revealed reduced Arc1 RNA expression in sweet neurons under a high-sugar diet. Immunostaining showed Arc1 expression predominantly around cell bodies of sweet neurons in the labellum, suggesting its presence in sweet neurons and nearby thecogen cells, which are support cells enveloping taste neurons. Functional studies with electrophysiology and behavior assays demonstrated that Arc1 mutants exhibit diminished sweet responses, highlighting Arc1's role in sweet taste sensation and plasticity. These findings provide new insights into molecular mechanisms driving taste modulation in response to dietary changes. |