Taste buds are the taste sensory organs located in the oropharynx of jawed vertebrates. Our work focuses on the formation of the taste sensory organ circuit. We use zebrafish, as taste buds are easily accessible in vivo in this model. We have identified Fgf, Notch and miR-200 as key players in the differentiation process of taste bud cells (Development 2011). We have also revealed that forming taste bud cells show diverse motility profiles within the epithelium,being displaced in a random, confined or directed mode (Development 2016). The latter behaviour is reminiscent of slithering observed in mouse lung neuroendocrine cells (Kuo & Krasnow 2015).

Our current work focuses on understanding the functional mechanisms underlying the formation of the circuit. We intend to examine how it becomes disrupted in pathological conditions and how the organs regenerate. The study of these rather simple, small sensory organs may also contribute in understanding how larger neuronal circuits are formed.