The taste of carbonation. Science (New York, N.Y.) [Science] Journal article

Title	The taste of carbonation.
Author(s)	Chandrashekar J, Yarmolinsky D, von Buchholtz L, Oka Y, Sly W, Ryba NJ, Zuker CS
Institution	Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Departments of Neurobiology and Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Source	Science 2009 Oct 16; 326(5951):443-5.
MeSH	Action Potentials Animals Benzolamide Bicarbonates Calcium Channels Carbon Dioxide Carbonated Beverages Carbonic Anhydrase IV Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors Carbonic Anhydrases Chorda Tympani Nerve Gene Expression Profiling Mice Mice, Transgenic Protons Receptors, Cell Surface Taste Taste Buds Taste Perception
Abstract	Carbonated beverages are commonly available and immensely popular, but little is known about the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the perception of carbonation in the mouth. In mammals, carbonation elicits both somatosensory and chemosensory responses, including activation of taste neurons. We have identified the cellular and molecular substrates for the taste of carbonation. By targeted genetic ablation and the silencing of synapses in defined populations of taste receptor cells, we demonstrated that the sour-sensing cells act as the taste sensors for carbonation, and showed that carbonic anhydrase 4, a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored enzyme, functions as the principal CO2 taste sensor. Together, these studies reveal the basis of the taste of carbonation as well as the contribution of taste cells in the orosensory response to CO2.
Language	eng
Pub Type(s)	Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PubMed ID	19833970

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