Sensitivity to albumin and its terminal amino-acids of labellar taste chemoreceptors in Protophormia terraenovae (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

LISCIA, ANNA MARIA;Stoffolano J. G;TOMASSINI BARBAROSSA, IOLE;MURONI, PATRIZIA;CRNJAR, ROBERTO MASSIMO

1995-01-01

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Abstract

Stimulation with bovine serum albumin (BSA) evokes spikes discharges from three receptor cells of the labellar chemosensilla in Protophormia, the ''sugar'' cell being the most sensitive. Confrontation of the spike frequency profiles across all three chemoreceptor cells by the vector space analysis suggests that L-alanine (the C-terminal amino acid of the BSA molecule), but not L-aspartic acid (N-terminal amino acid), may account for the stimulator effectiveness of BSA.