New type of flavor discovered in taste buds

Our mouths can be home to a newly discovered set of flavors with multi-tasking flavor cells that – unlike most well-known flavor cells, which detect individual flavors, are capable of producing sour, sweet, bitter and umami stimuli detect. A research team led by Kathryn Medler at the University of Buffalo reports this discovery in a study published August 13 in PLOS Genetics.

Taste buds in the mouth are critical to our survival and help us decide if a food is a good source of nutrients rather than a potential poison. Taste buds use three types of taste cells: Type I cells act as support cells; Type II cells detect bitter, sweet and umami flavors; and Type III cells detect sour and salty flavors. To better understand how taste cells detect and signal the presence of different tastes, the researchers used an engineered mouse model to investigate the signaling pathways that animals use to transmit taste information to the brain. They discovered a previously unknown subset of Type III cells that were “broadly responsive” and could indicate acidic stimuli with one signaling pathway, and sweet, bitter, and umami stimuli with another.

The idea that mammals may have a broad responsive taste cell has been put forward by multiple lab groups, but previously no one had isolated and identified these cells. The researchers suspect that broad-responsive cells make a significant contribution to our ability to taste. Their discovery provides new insights into how taste information is sent to the brain for processing, suggesting that taste buds are much more complex than we currently appreciate.

“Taste cells can be selective as well as generally responsive to stimuli similar to the cells in the brain that process taste information,” commented author Kathryn Medler. “Future experiments will focus on understanding how broadly responsive taste cells contribute to taste coding.”