An expansive internal chemosensory system in the insect abdomen implicates Gustatory Receptors in diverse aspects of interoception

Adult Drosophila melanogaster has an internal abdominal chemosensory system with about 80–100 abdominal chemosensory neurons expressing ~20 Gustatory receptor genes.

• Why it matters: External taste and olfaction receptors are well studied, but internal chemosensing in organs outside those circuits remains unclear, limiting understanding of interoception.
• What they did: The study mapped abdominal chemosensory neurons and their Gustatory receptor gene expression, then classified at least nine ACSN subtypes using co-expression, Abdominal Ganglion projections, and soma locations.
• The result: Distinct ACSN subpopulations expressing specific Gr combinations suggest new interoceptive roles, including monitoring nutrients, detecting metabolites and byproducts, and sensing pathogen-associated chemicals.

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