What Reason Causes Us To Think About Sex When We're Full?

ali.ma@wecistanche.com

Animals typically exhibit one behavior at a time; they must have mechanisms for prioritizing behaviors and switching from one behavior to another when appropriate. Adaptive prioritization between feeding and courtship is critical for maximizing evolutionary fitness.

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On February 9, 2022, Jing Wang's team from the University of California, San Diego published a research paper titled "A nutrient-specific gut hormone arbitrates between courtship and feeding" online in Nature, which explored the coordination of the transition from feeding in Drosophila melanogaster. Molecular and neuronal mechanisms of the transition to courtship. The study found that in hungry males, eating took precedence over courtship, and consumption of protein-rich foods quickly reversed this order within minutes. At the molecular level, a gut-derived, nutrient-specific neuropeptide hormone, diuretic hormone 31 (Dh31), drives the transition from feeding to courtship. This study further addresses the underlying kinetic issue through calcium imaging experiments.

Amino acids in food acutely activate Dh31+ enteroendocrine cells in the gut, thereby increasing circulating Dh31 levels. Furthermore, three-photon functional imaging of intact Drosophila showed that optogenetic stimulation of Dh31+ enteroendocrine cells rapidly excited a subset of brain neurons expressing the Dh31 receptor (Dh31R). Gut-derived Dh31 fires brain neurons through the circulatory system within minutes, coinciding with the rate at which feeding-court behavior switches. At the neural circuit level, there are two distinct populations of Dh31R+ neurons in the brain, one that inhibits feeding via allatostatin-C and the other that promotes courtship via Corazon. Taken together, the findings illustrate a mechanism whereby consumption of protein-rich foods triggers the release of gut hormones, which in turn preferentially court courtship overeating through two parallel pathways.

Animals typically exhibit one behavior at a time; they must have mechanisms for prioritizing behaviors and switching from one behavior to another when appropriate. Adaptive prioritization between feeding and courtship is critical for maximizing evolutionary fitness. For example, eating for too long may lead to a loss of reproductive opportunities, while underfeeding may reduce reproductive output and thus evolutionary fitness.

To understand how animals set behavioral priorities, the interplay between related motivational systems must be studied. However, most research has focused on individual systems that regulate feeding and courtship. Here, the study explores the context in which priorities between feeding and courtship are determined and addresses the molecular and neuronal mechanisms that facilitate the transition from feeding to courtship in Drosophila.

Dh31R-expressing Crz+ and AstC+ neurons in the brain operate in parallel to regulate courtship and protein feeding, respectively (Figure from Nature)

The study found that in hungry males, eating took precedence over courtship, and consumption of protein-rich foods quickly reversed this order within minutes. At the molecular level, a gut-derived, nutrient-specific neuropeptide hormone, diuretic hormone 31 (Dh31), drives the transition from feeding to courtship. This study further addresses the underlying kinetic issue through calcium imaging experiments.

Amino acids in food acutely activate Dh31+ enteroendocrine cells in the gut, thereby increasing circulating Dh31 levels. Furthermore, three-photon functional imaging of intact Drosophila showed that optogenetic stimulation of Dh31+ enteroendocrine cells rapidly excited a subset of brain neurons expressing the Dh31 receptor (Dh31R). Gut-derived Dh31 fires brain neurons through the circulatory system within minutes, coinciding with the rate at which feeding-court behavior switches.

At the neural circuit level, there are two distinct populations of Dh31R+ neurons in the brain, one that inhibits feeding via allatostatin-C and the other that promotes courtship via Corazon. Taken together, the findings illustrate a mechanism whereby consumption of protein-rich foods triggers the release of gut hormones, which in turn preferentially court courtship overeating through two parallel pathways.

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