Taste and smell in zebrafish, a vertebrate model organism

What is it about?

A review about olfactory and gustatory receptor families, olfactory sensory neurons and coding principles in zebrafish, a vertebrate model organism. All but one zebrafish olfactory and gustatory receptor families are homologous to the respective mammalian families, but generally smaller in number. At the same time they are more divergent. Zebrafish possesses the four main vertebrate olfactory receptor families and at least two minor ones, which are expressed in two major populations of olfactory receptor neurons and at least three minor ones. The cell types segregated in mammalian olfaction into the main and accessory olfactory system are found within a single sensory surface in zebrafish. Two vertebrate taste receptor families are present and expressed in taste cells. Taste buds are not only found within the mouth, but also on the external body surface, a typical situation for many fish species. Solitary chemosensory cells form a third chemosensory system. Stimuli for all three systems show extensive overlap.

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Why is it important?

The zebrafish solution to detection and processing of odors provides an essential counterpoint to the well-studied mammalian olfactory system and helps to understand the evolution of the olfactory sense in vertebrates.