title: Octopamine controls starvation resistance, life span and metabolic traits in Drosophila.
abstract: The monoamines octopamine (OA) and tyramine (TA) modulate numerous behaviours and physiological processes in invertebrates. Nevertheless, it is not clear whether these invertebrate counterparts of norepinephrine are important regulators of metabolic and life history traits. We show that flies (Drosophila melanogaster) lacking OA are more resistant to starvation, while their overall life span is substantially reduced compared with control flies. In addition, these animals have increased body fat deposits, reduced physical activity and a reduced metabolic resting rate. Increasing the release of OA from internal stores induced the opposite effects. Flies devoid of both OA and TA had normal body fat and metabolic rates, suggesting that OA and TA act antagonistically. Moreover, OA-deficient flies show increased insulin release rates. We inferred that the OA-mediated control of insulin release accounts for a substantial proportion of the alterations observed in these flies. Apparently, OA levels control the balance between thrifty and expenditure metabolic modes. Thus, changes in OA levels in response to external and internal signals orchestrate behaviour and metabolic processes to meet physiological needs. Moreover, chronic deregulation of the corresponding signalling systems in humans may be associated with metabolic disorders, such as obesity or diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Zoology, Molecular Physiology, 24098 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Zoology, Molecular Physiology, 24098 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Zoology, Molecular Physiology, 24098 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Zoology, Molecular Physiology, 24098 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Flora
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stephano
authors.affiliation: Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bruchhaus
authors.affiliation: Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Zoology, Molecular Physiology, 24098 Kiel, Germany.|Airway Research Center North (ARCN), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Germany.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.affiliation: Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Zoology, Molecular Physiology, 24098 Kiel, Germany.|Airway Research Center North (ARCN), Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Roeder
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases / Q000235:genetics*; D009655:Octopamine / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D013217:Starvation / Q000235:genetics*; D014439:Tyramine / Q000378:metabolism*; D014445:Tyrosine Decarboxylase / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009655:Octopamine; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases; C500802:Tdc2 protein, Drosophila; D014445:Tyrosine Decarboxylase; D014439:Tyramine