小柯机器人

美国加州大学王竞研究小组取得一项新突破。他们揭示了营养特异性肠道激素对求偶和进食选择的影响。该项研究成果发表在2022年2月9日出版的《自然》上。

在本研究中，研究人员探究了黑腹果蝇调控从进食到求偶转变的分子和神经元机制。研究发现在饥饿的雄性中，喂食优先于求爱，而富含蛋白质食物的消耗会在几分钟内迅速逆转这一顺序。在分子水平上，一种肠道衍生的营养特异性神经肽激素-利尿激素31 (Dh31)-促进了从进食到求爱的转变。研究人员通过钙成像实验进一步探究了潜在的动力学问题。食物中的氨基酸会迅速激活肠道中Dh31⁺的肠内分泌细胞，从而增加循环系统中Dh31的水平。

此外，对果蝇进行的三光子功能成像显示Dh31⁺肠内分泌细胞的光遗传学刺激迅速激发了表达Dh31受体(Dh31R)的脑神经元子集。肠道衍生的Dh31会在几分钟内通过循环系统激发大脑神经元，与喂食-求偶行为转换的速度一致。在电生理层面，大脑中有两个不同的Dh31R⁺神经元群，一部分细胞通过allatostatin-C抑制进食，另一部分细胞通过corazonin促进求爱。总之，该研究结果阐明了一种机制，即食用富含蛋白质的食物会触发肠道激素的释放，这反过来又优先通过两条平行的途径促进求偶而非进食行为。

据悉，动物需要结合环境来决定行为的优先级，并在适当的时刻从一种行为切换到另一种行为。

附：英文原文

Title: A nutrient-specific gut hormone arbitrates between courtship and feeding

Author: Lin, Hui-Hao, Kuang, Meihua Christina, Hossain, Imran, Xuan, Yinan, Beebe, Laura, Shepherd, Andrew K., Rolandi, Marco, Wang, Jing W.

Issue&Volume: 2022-02-09

Abstract: Animals must set behavioural priority in a context-dependent manner and switch from one behaviour to another at the appropriate moment1,2,3. Here we probe the molecular and neuronal mechanisms that orchestrate the transition from feeding to courtship in Drosophila melanogaster. We find that feeding is prioritized over courtship in starved males, and the consumption of protein-rich food rapidly reverses this order within a few minutes. At the molecular level, a gut-derived, nutrient-specific neuropeptide hormone—Diuretic hormone 31 (Dh31)—propels a switch from feeding to courtship. We further address the underlying kinetics with calcium imaging experiments. Amino acids from food acutely activate Dh31+ enteroendocrine cells in the gut, increasing Dh31 levels in the circulation. In addition, three-photon functional imaging of intact flies shows that optogenetic stimulation of Dh31+ enteroendocrine cells rapidly excites a subset of brain neurons that express Dh31 receptor (Dh31R). Gut-derived Dh31 excites the brain neurons through the circulatory system within a few minutes, in line with the speed of the feeding–courtship behavioural switch. At the circuit level, there are two distinct populations of Dh31R+ neurons in the brain, with one population inhibiting feeding through allatostatin-C and the other promoting courtship through corazonin. Together, our findings illustrate a mechanism by which the consumption of protein-rich food triggers the release of a gut hormone, which in turn prioritizes courtship over feeding through two parallel pathways.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04408-7

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04408-7

Nature：《自然》，创刊于1869年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：69.504
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