Evolution of the sugar receptors in insects

Background  

Perception of sugars is an invaluable ability for insects which often derive quickly accessible energy from these molecules. A distinctive subfamily of eight proteins within the gustatory receptor (Gr) family has been identified as sugar receptors (SRs) in Drosophila melanogaster (Gr5a, Gr61a, and Gr64a-f). We examined the evolution of these SRs within the 12 available Drosophila genome sequences, as well as three mosquito, two moth, and beetle, bee, and wasp genome sequences.