title: Rapid adaptation to food availability by a dopamine-mediated morphogenetic response.
abstract: Food can act as a powerful stimulus, eliciting metabolic, behavioural and developmental responses. These phenotypic changes can alter ecological and evolutionary processes; yet, the molecular mechanisms underlying many plastic phenotypic responses remain unknown. Here we show that dopamine signalling through a type-D(2) receptor mediates developmental plasticity by regulating arm length in pre-feeding sea urchin larvae in response to food availability. Although prey-induced traits are often thought to improve food acquisition, the mechanism underlying this plastic response acts to reduce feeding structure size and subsequent feeding rate. Consequently, the developmental programme and/or maternal provisioning predetermine the maximum possible feeding rate, and food-induced dopamine signalling reduces food acquisition potential during periods of abundant resources to preserve maternal energetic reserves. Sea urchin larvae may have co-opted the widespread use of food-induced dopamine signalling from behavioural responses to instead alter their development.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 30 Convent Drive, Building 30 Room 523, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 USA. adamsdi@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: Diane K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sewell
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Angerer
authors.forename: Lynne M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Angerer
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D065127:Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonists; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005502:Food; D007814:Larva / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D008863:Microspheres; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000819:agonists / Q000378:metabolism*; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D065127:Dopamine D2 Receptor Antagonists; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D004298:Dopamine