The vertebrate gustatory system

The sense of taste enables vertebrates in their natural ecosystem to select suitable foods and to consume species-appropriate diets. To this end the oral taste receptors serve the animal to accurately evaluate the chemical composition of food prior to ingestion, resulting in the right supply of the organism with calories and avoidance of harmful substances which in turn promotes health, well-being and survival. The present chapter summarizes the current knowledge of the peripheral taste anatomy, tastants, taste receptors and taste-evoked signal transduction in the gustatory system.