Fruit flies prefer food with certain textures, thanks to specific neurons in the brain that connect to taste sensors in the tongue.

Yali Zhang and Craig Montell at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and their colleagues gave fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) liquid solutions of varying viscosity, and solid foods of varying hardness. The flies preferred food that was less viscous and of an intermediate hardness. The authors identified a type of neuron, called md-L, that responded to mechanical stimulation of the sensory hairs on the tongue. When the team stimulated these neurons, the flies' feeding behaviour altered according to the strength of the stimulus.

The researchers pinpointed a protein, TMC, that is found in the neurons' membranes and is required for texture sensation. Mammals and other animals also express TMC proteins, suggesting that they may also have neuronal sensors for food texture.

Neuron http://doi.org/bm8x (2016)