Allatostatin-like receptors influence behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabiditis elegans.

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Allatostatin-like receptors influence behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabiditis elegans. William Bendena1*, Christine Wang1 and Ian Chin-Sang1 1 Queen's University Kingston, Department of Biology, Canada Neuropeptides and their action on receptors are involved in regulating various behaviours of many organisms. With the arrival of sequenced invertebrate genomes many new invertebrate neuropeptides as well as their G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been identified. In Drosophila melanogaster GPCR expression studies, generally in mammalian cells, have matched neuropeptides to their cognate receptor(s). Apart from the matching of receptor with ligand, very little is known about signal transduction pathways or how activation of the receptor may regulate animals physiology or behaviour. The first allatostatin family of neuropeptides found in invertebrates (PheGlyLeu-ASTs) share a conserved C-terminal-sequence of Tyr/PheXaaPheGlyLeu-NH2. In insects, depending on the insect PheGlyLeu-AST function varies. This neuropeptide family may contribute to several physiological mechanisms such as inhibition of juvenile hormone biosynthesis, inhibition of muscle contraction, myoendorine regulation, neuromodulation, and regulation of enzymatic activities. Two allatostatin receptors were first identified in Drosophila (Dar1 and Dar2) and orthologs have been identified in a variety of other invertebrates. The role of each receptor to a particular phyisological function or behaviour is unknown. As a comparative approach to understanding the contribution of allatostatin receptors to behaviour(s) we identified two allatostatin/galanin-like GPCRs in the nematode C. elegans.A deletion mutant of a C.elegans receptor that resembles Drosophila Dar-1 lost roaming behaviour with increased pivoting which impairs their ability to travel long distances on food. Animals with a mutant receptor gain fat. In the absence of food the mutant has normal foraging/roaming behaviour. With these observations we have assessed whether an RNAi reduction of Dar-1 in Drosophila leads to altered foraging/roaming behaviour in larvae on versus off food. Keywords: allatostatin, Behavior, foraging, G protein coupled receptors, Neuropeptides Conference: NASCE 2011: The inaugural meeting of the North American Society for Comparative Endocrinology, Ann Arbor, United States, 13 Jul - 16 Jul, 2011. Presentation Type: Invited Symposium Topic: General neuroendocrinology Citation: Bendena W, Wang C and Chin-Sang I (2011). Allatostatin-like receptors influence behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabiditis elegans.. Front. Endocrinol. Conference Abstract: NASCE 2011: The inaugural meeting of the North American Society for Comparative Endocrinology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fendo.2011.04.00109 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 28 Jul 2011; Published Online: 09 Aug 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. William Bendena, Queen's University Kingston, Department of Biology, Ontario, Canada, william.bendena@queensu.ca Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers William Bendena Christine Wang Ian Chin-Sang Google William Bendena Christine Wang Ian Chin-Sang Google Scholar William Bendena Christine Wang Ian Chin-Sang PubMed William Bendena Christine Wang Ian Chin-Sang Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.