The neuropeptide sulfakinin is a peripheral regulator of insect behavioral switch between mating and foraging.

ABSTRACT: Behavioral strategies for foraging and reproduction in the oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) are alternative options for resource allocation and are controlled by neuropeptides. Here, we show that the behavioral switch between foraging and reproduction is associated with changes in antennal sensitivity. Starved flies became more sensitive to food odors while suppressing their response to opposite-sex pheromones. The gene encoding sulfakinin receptor 1 (SkR1) was significantly upregulated in the antennae of starved flies, so we tested the behavioral phenotypes of null mutants for the genes encoding the receptor (skr1^-/-) and its ligand sulfakinin (sk^-/-). In both knockout lines, the antennal responses shifted to mating mode even when

SUBMITTER: Li HF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12048153 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature