Ashley Vega, & Dr. Gareth Harris
The coffee industry reaches over 80 billion US dollars in revenue partially due to the numerous chemicals that allow for coffee’s highly attractive aroma and flavor. Many people integrate coffee into their everyday routine; therefore, understanding why people are attracted to coffee can allow us to 1) characterize its attractive nature and 2) better understand how humans interpret a complex smell and taste on a molecular and cellular level. Although many are coffee consumers, the mechanism and characterization of coffee attraction have yet to be fully understood. We report that the model worm, C. elegans, with only 302 neurons, can smell and perform strong attraction behavior towards various coffee types. Using the model worm, we have identified worms to be strongly attracted to coffee. We have also characterized the neural architecture that drives this sensorimotor behavior. Ultimately, we provide a platform to thoroughly understand the mechanisms and future neuronal circuits that mediate sensory-guided behavior to a complex human-sensed stimulus.