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Abstract
Taste buds are the peripheral sensory organs for taste that is important for taking nutrients and avoiding toxins. The development and maintenance of taste organs is one of the central questions in the field of taste biology. In present dissertation, I have explored development of taste organs in following three topics: 1) determining whether taste bud cells are derived from neural crest cells (Chapter 3); 2) as the main focus of the dissertation, exploring roles of EVC2 and Hedgehog signaling in the development of taste papillae and taste buds (Chapter 4); 3) characterizing the expression of SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 in oral epithelium (Chapter 5). Employing lineage tracing, mouse genetic modifications, transcriptomics and other cutting-edge techniques, I found that 1) taste bud cells are not derived from neural crest cells; 2) EVC2 regulates Hedgehog signaling and multiple developmental events of lingual epithelium in mice; 3) SARS-CoV-2 receptor, ACE2, is enriched in a subpopulation of epithelial cells in the basal region of non-gustatory filiform papillae, but not in the taste papillae or taste buds. Studies in present dissertation regarding the development and maintenance of taste buds shed light on understanding of pathogenesis of taste bud degeneration and development of therapeutics for taste bud degeneration in a variety of diseases.