Labellar taste organs of Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

There are 36 to 42 taste bristles on each half of the labellum of Drosophila melanogaster; most of them are two-pronged with a pouch between them. Some end bluntly with a pore at the tip. Each taste-bristle has two lumina: one is circular, the other crescent-like in cross section. In most bristles four dendrites of chemoreceptor neurons run along the circular lumen. In five to seven taste-bristles only two chemoreceptor neurons are found. A mechanoreceptor neuron sends a dendrite to the base of each taste-bristle. The dendrites are surrounded by four concentrically-arranged sheath cells. The inner cell secretes the cuticular sheath; cells II and III are presumably two trichogens, one secreting the bristle material around the circular lumen, the other around the crescent-like lumen. Cell IV, especially rich in bundles of microtubules, secretes the cuticle of the socket, and corresponds to the tormogen. The neurons have the typical structure found in insect sensilla. In many sensilla one neuron is less electron-dense than the others and may be the water-sensor. On the medial side of the labellum between the pseudotracheae are rows of taste pegs covered by folds. In each peg one chemoreceptor and one mechanoreceptor are found. The number of axons in each labial nerve agrees with the total number of dendrites in all taste organs of each lobe.