A matter of taste: Nutrient Sensing Through the Plasma Membrane of Eukaryotic Cells, a Biochemical Society Focused Meeting, held at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, 25–29 September 2004

Sensing nutrients is a fundamental property of all living cells. Indeed, it is an absolute requirement for their ability to adapt to changes in their nutritional environment.There are an increasing number of published reports describing examples of nutrient-sensing molecules in the plasma membrane of fungi, plant and animal cells.These nutrientsensing molecules include nutrient carriers, molecules analogous with nutrient transporters, but without demonstrable transport function, and members of a large superfamily of GPCRs (G-protein-coupled receptors).These reports have added a fascinating new function to the plasma membrane as a nutrient-sensing device.