14 research outputs found
Metabolic Stress Responses in Drosophila Are Modulated by Brain Neurosecretory Cells That Produce Multiple Neuropeptides
In Drosophila, neurosecretory cells that release peptide hormones play a prominent role in the regulation of development, growth, metabolism, and reproduction. Several types of peptidergic neurosecretory cells have been identified in the brain of Drosophila with release sites in the corpora cardiaca and anterior aorta. We show here that in adult flies the products of three neuropeptide precursors are colocalized in five pairs of large protocerebral neurosecretory cells in two clusters (designated ipc-1 and ipc-2a): Drosophila tachykinin (DTK), short neuropeptide F (sNPF) and ion transport peptide (ITP). These peptides were detected by immunocytochemistry in combination with GFP expression driven by the enhancer trap Gal4 lines c929 and Kurs-6, both of which are expressed in ipc-1 and 2a cells. This mix of colocalized peptides with seemingly unrelated functions is intriguing and prompted us to initiate analysis of the function of the ten neurosecretory cells. We investigated the role of peptide signaling from large ipc-1 and 2a cells in stress responses by monitoring the effect of starvation and desiccation in flies with levels of DTK or sNPF diminished by RNA interference. Using the Gal4-UAS system we targeted the peptide knockdown specifically to ipc-1 and 2a cells with the c929 and Kurs-6 drivers. Flies with reduced DTK or sNPF levels in these cells displayed decreased survival time at desiccation and starvation, as well as increased water loss at desiccation. Our data suggest that homeostasis during metabolic stress requires intact peptide signaling by ipc-1 and 2a neurosecretory cells
Nematode and Arthropod Genomes Provide New Insights into the Evolution of Class 2 B1 GPCRs
Nematodes and arthropods are the most speciose animal groups and possess Class 2 B1 G-protein coupled receptors
(GPCRs). Existing models of invertebrate Class 2 B1 GPCR evolution are mainly centered on Caenorhabditis elegans and
Drosophila melanogaster and a few other nematode and arthropod representatives. The present study reevaluates the
evolution of metazoan Class 2 B1 GPCRs and orthologues by exploring the receptors in several nematode and arthropod
genomes and comparing them to the human receptors. Three novel receptor phylogenetic clusters were identified and
designated cluster A, cluster B and PDF-R-related cluster. Clusters A and B were identified in several nematode and
arthropod genomes but were absent from D. melanogaster and Culicidae genomes, whereas the majority of the members of
the PDF-R-related cluster were from nematodes. Cluster A receptors were nematode and arthropod-specific but shared a
conserved gene environment with human receptor loci. Cluster B members were orthologous to human GCGR, PTHR and
Secretin members with which they probably shared a common origin. PDF-R and PDF-R related clusters were present in
representatives of both nematodes and arthropods. The results of comparative analysis of GPCR evolution and diversity in
protostomes confirm previous notions that C. elegans and D. melanogaster genomes are not good representatives of
nematode and arthropod phyla. We hypothesize that at least four ancestral Class 2 B1 genes emerged early in the metazoan
radiation, which after the protostome-deuterostome split underwent distinct selective pressures that resulted in duplication
and deletion events that originated the current Class 2 B1 GPCRs in nematode and arthropod genomes.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) project PTDC/BIA-BCM/114395/2009, by the European
Regional Development Fund through COMPETE and FCT under the project ‘‘PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2011.’’ RCF is in receipt of an FCT grant (SFRH/BPD/89811/2012)
and JCRC is supported by auxiliary research contract FCT Pluriannual funds attributed to CCMAR. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and
analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript