Volume 31, No 5, May 2021

ISSN: 1001-0602 
EISSN: 1748-7838 2018 
impact factor 17.848* 
(Clarivate Analytics, 2019)

Volume 31 Issue 5, May 2021: 580-588   |  Open Access

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

A novel satiety sensor detects circulating glucose and suppresses food consumption via insulin-producing cells in Drosophila

Wei Qi^1,2 , Gaohang Wang¹ , Liming Wang^1,*

¹MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection and Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
²Institute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
Correspondence: Liming Wang(lmwang83@zju.edu.cn)

Sensing satiety is a crucial survival skill for all animal species including human. Despite the discovery of numerous neuromodulators that regulate food intake in Drosophila, the mechanism of satiety sensing remains largely elusive. Here, we investigated how neuropeptidergic circuitry conveyed satiety state to influence flies’ food consumption. Drosophila tackykinin (DTK) and its receptor TAKR99D were identified in an RNAi screening as feeding suppressors. Two pairs of DTK+ neurons in the fly brain could be activated by elevated D-glucose in the hemolymph and imposed a suppressive effect on feeding. These DTK+ neurons formed a two-synapse circuitry targeting insulin-producing cells, a well-known feeding suppressor, via TAKR99D+ neurons, and this circuitry could be rapidly activated during food ingestion and cease feeding. Taken together, we identified a novel satiety sensor in the fly brain that could detect specific circulating nutrients and in turn modulate feeding, shedding light on the neural regulation of energy homeostasis.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-020-00449-7

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