What Is Drosophila Melanogaster's Taste Discrimination?

Taste discrimination in young and old Drosophila melanogaster
Introduction
The ability to discriminate taste is critical for the survival and nutrition of an organism (Sellier et al., 2010, Gordesky-Gold et al., 2008). Many animals rely on their taste organs to detect and discriminate various types of taste such as sweet or bitter (Weiss et al., 2011). When these organs come in contact with a food source, signals are sent to taste receptor cells. The activation of certain taste receptor cells by nutrients or chemical compounds have been found to stimulate the sense of taste (Breslin, 2013). This would help the organism initiate the appropriate feeding behavior such as rejecting a bitter food and accepting a sweet food (Chen, 2015).
Invertebrates
Their preference for these sweeteners vary depending on their concentration. To understand the specific concentration of sucrose preferred by Drosophila, we exposed them to a serial dilution of sucrose. After obtaining the concentration of sucrose that is most preferred, we created a serial dilution of quinine with this concentration to examine whether Drosophila could detect different concentrations of quinine.
Since aging in humans is accompanied with a gradual loss of physiological functions such as taste (IIiadi et al, 2012), we investigated whether the age of Drosophila would have an effect on the sensitivity to bitter and sweet taste. We hypothesize that like humans, age in Drosophila would have an effect on the sensitivity to bitter and sweet
One end of each capillary tube was dipped in mineral oil to ensure that Drosophila melanogaster fed from only one point and to control evaporation of our solutions. Petri dish samples were replicated 7 times including the control. Petri dishes were imaged immediately (Cano Scan 4400F) and Drosophila melanogaster (25) were placed in each dish. For our control, a petri dish containing no Drosophila melanogaster was made (Sellier et al., 2010). Petri dishes were sealed and covered with tin foil. This was done to create darkness and ensure that Drosophila melanogaster did not feed because of their attraction to the color of the capillary tubes. Thereafter, they were placed upright for 2 hours. Petri dishes were undisturbed to allow Drosophila melanogaster feed during that time. After 2 hours, petri dishes were imaged again. All experiments were performed in the afternoon to avoid circadian