Final answer:
The missing taste on the tongue that taste buds pick up, in addition to sweet, sour, and salty, is umami. This savory taste is detected by specific taste receptors and is one of the primary five tastes recognized by sensory neurons on the tongue. The sense of smell also contributes to the perception of flavor.
Step-by-step explanation:
On a tongue, taste buds pick up tastes that are sweet, sour, salty, and umami. Taste receptors are found in tiny bumps on the tongue known as taste buds, and they are responsible for the sensation of five primary tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.
The meaty or savory taste is known as umami, which is a term derived from the Japanese language meaning "delicious taste". This recognition of umami as a distinct taste came about during research in the mid-1980s.
Each of these tastes has specific receptors that only respond to their corresponding taste. Sensory neurons on the tongue detect these tastes, and together with the sense of smell, which is enabled by sensory neurons in the nose, they contribute to the overall flavor of food.
The gustatory cells are sensitive to certain food molecules, with different mechanisms of action for transduction of the five tastes. For instance, sweet, bitter, and umami tastants require a G-protein coupled receptor, whereas salty and sour tastes are triggered by cations such as Na+ and H+.