title: Enteric neurons and systemic signals couple nutritional and reproductive status with intestinal homeostasis.
abstract: The gastrointestinal tract is emerging as a key regulator of appetite and metabolism, but daunting neuroanatomical complexity has hampered identification of the relevant signals. Invertebrate models could provide a simple and genetically amenable alternative, but their autonomic nervous system and its visceral functions remain largely unexplored. Here we develop a quantitative method based on defecation behavior to uncover a central role for the Drosophila intestine in the regulation of nutrient intake, fluid, and ion balance. We then identify a key homeostatic role for autonomic neurons and hormones, including a brain-gut circuit of insulin-producing neurons modulating appetite, a vasopressin-like system essential for fluid homeostasis, and enteric neurons mediating sex peptide-induced changes in intestinal physiology. These conserved mechanisms of visceral control, analogous to those found in the enteric nervous system and hypothalamic/pituitary axis, enable the study of autonomic control in a model organism that has proved instrumental in understanding sensory and motor systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cognigni
authors.forename: Andrew P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Miguel-Aliaga
mesh_terms: D000136:Acid-Base Equilibrium; D000818:Animals; D001069:Appetite Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D004032:Diet; D004231:Diuresis; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D017615:Enteric Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000294:innervation* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005772:Gastrointestinal Transit; D006490:Hemostatics; D008297:Male; D009476:Neurons, Efferent / Q000502:physiology*; D012098:Reproduction; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000502:physiology; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D006490:Hemostatics; D012724:Sex Attractants; D014667:Vasopressins