A gene‐driven recovery mechanism: Drosophila larvae increase feeding activity for post‐stress weight recovery

Abstract

Recovery from weight loss after stress is important for all organisms, although the recovery mechanisms are not fully understood. We are working to clarify these mechanisms. Here, we recorded enhanced feeding activity of Drosophila melanogaster larvae from 2 to 4 h after heat stress at 35°C for 1 h. During the post-stress period, expression levels of sweet taste gustatory receptor genes (Grs), Gr5a, Gr43a, Gr64a, and Gr64f, were elevated, whereas bitter taste Grs, Gr66a, and Gr33a, were decreased in expression and expression of a non-typical taste receptor Gr, Gr68a, was unchanged. Similar upregulation of Gr5a and downregulation of Gr66a was recorded after cold stress at 4°C. Expression levels of tropomyosin and ATP synthase ß subunit were significantly increased in larval mouth parts around 3 to 5 h after the heat stress. We infer that up-regulation of post-stress larval feeding activity, and weight recovery, is mediated by increasing capacity for mouth part muscular movements and changes in taste sensing physiology. We propose that Drosophila larvae, and likely insects generally, express an efficient mechanism to recover from weight loss during post-stress periods.

The Exchangeable Apolipoprotein Nplp2 Sustains Lipid Flow and Heat Acclimation in Drosophila

“…Moreover, the anabolic process accompanying tissue repair also needs to be sustained by nutrient influx. Studies in Drosophila have shown that heat stress depletes energy stores and has a prolonged effect on metabolite profile and fly fitness (Klepsatel et al, 2016;Sarup et al, 2016;Ryuda et al, 2018). So far, however, the molecular mechanisms underlying nutrient supply during heat stress and tissue repair remain poorly understood.…”

Comments to Recent Studies Showing Systemic Mechanisms Enabling Drosophila Larvae to Recover From Stress-Induced Damages

“…We recently investigated the effects of acute heat stress on feeding activities and body weights of Drosophila melanogaster larvae of the y w strain during the poststress period to test our hypothesis that animals possess systemic mechanisms to cope with and survive the damage caused by environmental stressors. 7 Feeding rates of Drosophila larvae were shown to decrease soon after the stress at 35°C for 1 hour, which caused reduction in body weight 2 hours after the stress. Thereafter, feeding activities increased to higher levels compared with control larvae at 3 hours after the heat stress.…”