Drosophila neuropeptide F mediates integration of chemosensory stimulation and conditioning of the nervous system by food.
The conserved neuropeptide Y (NPY) signaling pathway has been strongly implicated in the stimulation of food uptake in vertebrates as well as in the regulation of food conditioned foraging behaviors of Caenorhabditis elegans. Using in situ RNA hybridization and immunocytochemistry, we report the neuronal network of Drosophila neuropeptide F (dNPF), a human NPY homologue, in the larval central nervous system and its food-dependent modifications. We provide indications that gustatory stimulation by sugar, but not its ingestion or metabolism, is sufficient to trigger long-term, dose-dependent alterations of the dNPF neuronal circuit through both dnpf activation and increased synaptic transmission. Our results strongly suggest that the dNPF neuronal circuit is an integral part of the sensory system that mediates food signaling, providing the neural basis for understanding how invertebrate NPY regulates food response.
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Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, 724 Biological Sciences Building, Athens, GA 30602, USA. pshen@cellmate.cb.uga.edu
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D000818:Animals; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000494:pharmacology; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007814:Larva; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology
D002241:Carbohydrates; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C400215:neuropeptide F, Drosophila