A high-protein diet-responsive gut hormone regulates behavioral and metabolic optimization in Drosophila melanogaster.

Protein is essential for all living organisms; however, excessive protein intake can have adverse effects, such as hyperammonemia. Although mechanisms responding to protein deficiency are well-studied, there is a significant gap in our understanding of how organisms adaptively suppress excessive protein intake. In the present study, utilizing the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, we discover that the peptide hormone CCHamide1 (CCHa1), secreted by enteroendocrine cells in response to a high-protein diet (HPD), is vital for suppressing overconsumption of protein.

The seminal vesicle is a juvenile hormone-responsive tissue in adult male .

Juvenile hormone (JH) is one of the most essential hormones controlling insect metamorphosis and physiology. While it is well known that JH affects many tissues throughout the insect life cycle, the difference in JH responsiveness and the repertoire of JH-inducible genes among different tissues has not been fully investigated. In this study, we monitored JH responsiveness using transgenic flies carrying a () construct.

Large-scale omics analyses of nutrition-responsive mechanisms of female germline stem cell proliferation and maintenance in Drosophila melanogaster.

Female germline stem cells (fGSCs) are essential for generating mature oocytes. In general, self-renewal and differentiation of fGSCs into germ cells are regulated by niche signals from neighboring niche cells. In addition, fGSCs and their niche cells are greatly influenced by physiological and environmental factors, especially nutritional status.

A sexually transmitted sugar orchestrates reproductive responses to nutritional stress.

Seminal fluid is rich in sugars, but their role beyond supporting sperm motility is unknown. In this study, we found Drosophila melanogaster males transfer a substantial amount of a phospho-galactoside to females during mating, but only half as much when undernourished. This seminal substance, which we named venerose, induces an increase in germline stem cells (GSCs) and promotes sperm storage in females, especially undernourished ones.

Supreme glutathione-dependent ketosteroid isomerase in the yellow-fever transmitting mosquito Aedes aegypti.

The steroid hormone ecdysone is essential for the reproduction and survival of insects. The hormone is synthesized from dietary sterols such as cholesterol, yielding ecdysone in a series of consecutive enzymatic reactions. In the insect orders Lepidoptera and Diptera a glutathione transferase called Noppera-bo (Nobo) plays an essential, but biochemically uncharacterized, role in ecdysteroid biosynthesis.

Endocrine Regulation of Aging in the Fruit Fly .

The past few decades have witnessed increasing research clarifying the role of endocrine signaling in the regulation of aging in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Studies using the model organism fruit fly have largely advanced our understanding of evolutionarily conserved mechanisms in the endocrinology of aging and anti-aging. Mutations in single genes involved in endocrine signaling modify lifespan, as do alterations of endocrine signaling in a tissue- or cell-specific manner, highlighting a central role of endocrine signaling in coordinating the crosstalk between tissues and cells to determine the pace of aging.

The seminal vesicle is a juvenile hormone-responsive tissue in adult male .

Juvenile hormone (JH) is one of the most essential hormones controlling insect metamorphosis and physiology. While it is well known that JH affects many tissues throughout the insects life cycle, the difference in JH responsiveness and the repertoire of JH-inducible genes among different tissues has not been fully investigated. In this study, we monitored JH responsiveness using transgenic flies carrying a () construct.

A ortholog of ( ) is essential for development.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication and transcription are essential for cellular energy metabolism. It has been suggested that pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins regulate various aspects of mitochondrial RNA metabolism, including transcription, processing, maturation and stability, and protein synthesis. However, an requirement of PPR proteins in RNA metabolism has not been fully examined.

cis-Decalin-containing tetramic acids as inhibitors of insect steroidogenic glutathione S-transferase Noppera-bo.

Decalin-containing tetramic acid is a bioactive scaffold primarily produced by filamentous fungi. The structural diversity of this group of compounds is generated by characteristic enzymes of fungal biosynthetic pathways, including polyketide synthase/nonribosomal peptide synthetase hybrid enzymes and decalin synthase, which are responsible for the construction of a linear polyenoyl tetramic acid structure and stereoselective decalin formation via the intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction, respectively. Compounds that differed only in the decalin configuration were collected from genetically engineered mutants derived from decalin-containing tetramic acid-producing fungi and used for a structure-activity relationship study.

Female reproductive dormancy in Drosophila is regulated by DH31-producing neurons projecting into the corpus allatum.

Female insects can enter reproductive diapause, a state of suspended egg development, to conserve energy under adverse environments. In many insects, including the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, reproductive diapause, also frequently called reproductive dormancy, is induced under low-temperature and short-day conditions by the downregulation of juvenile hormone (JH) biosynthesis in the corpus allatum (CA). In this study, we demonstrate that neuropeptide Diuretic hormone 31 (DH31) produced by brain neurons that project into the CA plays an essential role in regulating reproductive dormancy by suppressing JH biosynthesis in adult D.

Compounds Inhibiting Noppera-bo, a Glutathione -transferase Involved in Insect Ecdysteroid Biosynthesis: Novel Insect Growth Regulators.

Glutathione -transferases (GSTs) are conserved in a wide range of organisms, including insects. In 2014, an epsilon GST, known as Noppera-bo (Nobo), was shown to regulate the biosynthesis of ecdysteroid, the principal steroid hormone in insects. Studies on fruit flies, , and silkworms, , demonstrated that loss-of-function mutants of fail to synthesize ecdysteroid and die during development, consistent with the essential function of ecdysteroids in insect molting and metamorphosis.

Circulating fructose regulates a germline stem cell increase via gustatory receptor-mediated gut hormone secretion in mated .

Oogenesis is influenced by multiple environmental factors. In the fruit fly, , nutrition and mating have large impacts on an increase in female germline stem cells (GSCs). However, it is unclear whether these two factors affect this GSC increase interdependently.

Functional impact of subunit composition and compensation on Drosophila melanogaster nicotinic receptors-targets of neonicotinoids.

Neonicotinoid insecticides target insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and their adverse effects on non-target insects are of serious concern. We recently found that cofactor TMX3 enables robust functional expression of insect nAChRs in Xenopus laevis oocytes and showed that neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and clothianidin) exhibited agonist actions on some nAChRs of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), honeybee (Apis mellifera) and bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) with more potent actions on the pollinator nAChRs. However, other subunits from the nAChR family remain to be explored.

Shortened lifespan induced by a high-glucose diet is associated with intestinal immune dysfunction in Drosophila sechellia.

Organisms can generally be divided into two nutritional groups: generalists that consume various types of food and specialists that consume specific types of food. However, it remains unclear how specialists adapt to only limited nutritional conditions in nature. In this study, we addressed this question by focusing on Drosophila fruit flies.

Sensing of the non-essential amino acid tyrosine governs the response to protein restriction in Drosophila.

The intake of dietary protein regulates growth, metabolism, fecundity and lifespan across various species, which makes amino acid (AA)-sensing vital for adaptation to the nutritional environment. The general control nonderepressible 2 (GCN2)-activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) pathway and the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway are involved in AA-sensing. However, it is not fully understood which AAs regulate these two pathways in living animals and how they coordinate responses to protein restriction.

Whole-genome sequencing analysis and protocol for RNA interference of the endoparasitoid wasp Asobara japonica.

Asobara japonica is an endoparasitic wasp that parasitizes Drosophila flies. It synthesizes various toxic components in the venom gland and injects them into host larvae during oviposition. To identify and characterize these toxic components for enabling parasitism, we performed the whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and devised a protocol for RNA interference (RNAi) with A.

Endocrinology: Non-insulin-producing cells secrete insulin under nutrient shortage.

A new study reveals that Drosophila insulin-like peptides (Dilps) accumulate in adipokinetic hormone (AKH)-producing cells in a manner dependent on the insulin-binding protein ImpL2. Under nutrient limitation, AKH and Dilps are released from these cells, maintaining the local tissue-specific activation of insulin signaling in steroidogenic organs and impacting the timing of pupariation.

Transcriptional Regulators of Ecdysteroid Biosynthetic Enzymes and Their Roles in Insect Development.

Steroid hormones are responsible for coordinating many aspects of biological processes in most multicellular organisms, including insects. Ecdysteroid, the principal insect steroid hormone, is biosynthesized from dietary cholesterol or plant sterols. In the last 20 years, a number of ecdysteroidogenic enzymes, including Noppera-bo, Neverland, Shroud, Spook/Spookier, Cyp6t3, Phantom, Disembodied, Shadow, and Shade, have been identified and characterized in molecular genetic studies using the fruit fly .

Molecular action of larvicidal flavonoids on ecdysteroidogenic glutathione S-transferase Noppera-bo in Aedes aegypti.

Background: Mosquito control is a crucial global issue for protecting the human community from mosquito-borne diseases. There is an urgent need for the development of selective and safe reagents for mosquito control. Flavonoids, a group of chemical substances with variable phenolic structures, such as daidzein, have been suggested as potential mosquito larvicides with less risk to the environment.

Regulation of Mating-Induced Increase in Female Germline Stem Cells in the Fruit Fly .

In many insect species, mating stimuli can lead to changes in various behavioral and physiological responses, including feeding, mating refusal, egg-laying behavior, energy demand, and organ remodeling, which are collectively known as the post-mating response. Recently, an increase in germline stem cells (GSCs) has been identified as a new post-mating response in both males and females of the fruit fly, . We have extensively studied mating-induced increase in female GSCs of at the molecular, cellular, and systemic levels.

The plant-derived triterpenoid, cucurbitacin B, but not cucurbitacin E, inhibits the developmental transition associated with ecdysone biosynthesis in Drosophila melanogaster.

In insects, some sterols are essential not only for cell membrane homeostasis, but for biosynthesis of the steroid hormone ecdysone. Dietary sterols are required for insect development because insects cannot synthesize sterols de novo. Therefore, sterol-like compounds that can compete with essential sterols are good candidates for insect growth regulators.

The sugar-responsive enteroendocrine neuropeptide F regulates lipid metabolism through glucagon-like and insulin-like hormones in Drosophila melanogaster.

The enteroendocrine cell (EEC)-derived incretins play a pivotal role in regulating the secretion of glucagon and insulins in mammals. Although glucagon-like and insulin-like hormones have been found across animal phyla, incretin-like EEC-derived hormones have not yet been characterised in invertebrates. Here, we show that the midgut-derived hormone, neuropeptide F (NPF), acts as the sugar-responsive, incretin-like hormone in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.

A population of neurons that produce hugin and express the diuretic hormone 44 receptor gene projects to the corpora allata in Drosophila melanogaster.

The corpora allata (CA) are essential endocrine organs that biosynthesize and secrete the sesquiterpenoid hormone, namely juvenile hormone (JH), to regulate a wide variety of developmental and physiological events in insects. CA are directly innervated with neurons in many insect species, implying the innervations to be important for regulating JH biosynthesis. Although this is also true for the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, neurotransmitters produced in the CA-projecting neurons are yet to be identified.