Serotonergic neurons respond to nutrients and regulate the timing of steroid hormone biosynthesis in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: The temporal transition of development is flexibly coordinated in the context of the nutrient environment, and this coordination is essential for organisms to increase their survival fitness and reproductive success. Steroid hormone, a key player of the juvenile-to-adult transition, is biosynthesized in a nutrient-dependent manner; however, the underlying genetic mechanism remains unclear. Here we report that the biosynthesis of insect steroid hormone, ecdysteroid, is regulated by a subset of serotonergic neurons in Drosophila melanogaster. These neurons directly innervate the prothoracic gland (PG), an ecdysteroid-producing organ and share tracts with the stomatogastric nervous system. Interestingly, the projecting neurites morphologically respond to nutrient conditions. Moreover, reduced

SUBMITTER: Shimada-Niwa Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4284655 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature