Olfaction and gustation in fish: an overview

Living in an aquatic environment, often devoid of light but rich in dissolved compounds, fish have highly developed chemosensory and chemical signalling systems. The olfactory and gustatory systems comprise the major chemosensory pathways. Despite considerable variations in structural organization of the peripheral olfactory organ throughout fish species, ultrastructural organization of the olfactory sensory epithelium is extremely consistent. The olfactory receptor cell is a bipolar neurone which is directly exposed to the external environment and sends information to the brain by its own axon (cranial nerve I). Four major classes of chemicals have been identified as specific olfactory stimuli and their stimulatory effectiveness characterized: amino acids, sex steroids, bile acids/salts and prostaglandins. Olfactory signals such as those involved in reproduction and feeding may be processed independently through two distinct subsystems: the lateral and medial olfactory systems. The taste buds constitute the structural basis of the gustatory organ. Taste buds may occur not only in the oropharyngeal cavity, but on the whole body surface. Chemical information detected by specialized epithelial cells, gustatory cells, is transmitted to the central nervous system by cranial nerve VII (facial), IX (glossopharyngeal), and X (vagal). Besides diverse sensitivities and specificities for amino acids, fish gustatory receptors detect various organic acids, nucleotides and bile salts. Putative receptors, molecular mechanisms of transduction and the role played by olfaction and gustation in feeding, reproduction, migration and other fish behaviours are discussed.