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The basics of base sensing

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Animals need to be able to evaluate environmental pH. Mechanisms that mediate sour taste and acid sensing have been reported across species, but less is known about the detection of high pH. Mi et al. identify the gene alkaliphile, which encodes a high-pH-gated chloride channel in the gustatory system of flies.

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Fig. 1: Basic internal and external sensors in model organisms and humans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, Jupiter, FL, USA

    Scarlet J. Park & William W. Ja

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  1. Scarlet J. Park
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  2. William W. Ja
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Correspondence to William W. Ja.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Park, S.J., Ja, W.W. The basics of base sensing. Nat Metab 5, 364–365 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00763-5

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