Metabolism and growth adaptation to environmental conditions in Drosophila

Abstract

Organisms adapt to changing environments by adjusting their development, metabolism, and behavior to improve their chances of survival and reproduction. To achieve such flexibility, organisms must be able to sense and respond to changes in external environmental conditions and their internal state. Metabolic adaptation in response to altered nutrient availability is key to maintaining energy homeostasis and sustaining developmental growth. Furthermore, environmental variables exert major influences on growth and final adult body size in animals. This developmental plasticity depends on adaptive responses to internal state and external cues that are essential for developmental processes. Genetic studies have shown that the fruit fly Drosophila, similarly to mammals, regulates its metabolism, growth, and behavior in response to the environment through several key hormones including insulin, peptides with glucagon-like function, and steroid hormones. Here we review emerging evidence showing that various environmental cues and internal conditions are sensed in different organs that, via inter-organ communication, relay information to neuroendocrine centers that control insulin and steroid signaling. This review focuses on endocrine regulation of development, metabolism, and behavior in Drosophila, highlighting recent advances in the role of the neuroendocrine system as a signaling hub that integrates environmental inputs and drives adaptive responses.

Bacillus thuringiensis Bioinsecticides Induce Developmental Defects in Non-Target Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

“…Indeed, the former acts in the fat body by sensing the amount free amino acids and remotely controls the secretion of Insulin Like Peptides (ILPs) by specialized cells located in the larval brain. The second is activated by circulating ILPs in peripheral tissues both to promote growth and to control duration of development (for review see [ 90 , 91 ] and references herein). Finally, we did not observe a decrease in food intake suggesting that spores and commercial products do not induce avoidance behavior.…”

A nutrient-responsive hormonal circuit controls energy and water homeostasis inDrosophila

“…In mammals, the hypothalamus acts as a central command center for nutrient and water sensing, as it contains neuronal populations that are activated by changes in extracellular sugar concentration or osmolality and release key hormones that initiate compensatory organ activities 3,4 . Similarly, in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster , discrete populations of neurosecretory cells function as nutrient- or osmosensors, which upon stimulation secrete neurohormones that modulate food intake, energy mobilization, gut peristalsis or renal secretion 5–8 . Both mammals and flies thus regulate organ activities in response to internal state, and in many instances accomplish this regulation by similar mechanisms.…”

Optimization of Porphyran Extraction from Pyropia yezoensis by Response Surface Methodology and Its Lipid-Lowering Effects

“…When excess fat exceeds the storage capacity of the fat body, it leads to ectopic deposition of free fatty acids into other tissues. This, in turn leads to the development of a metabolic disorder [ 55 , 56 ]. An in vivo experiment revealed that PPYP supplementation significantly reduced the TG content in high-sucrose-fed larvae.…”