Journal
DEVELOPMENTAL CELL
Volume 13, Issue 6, Pages 857-871Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2007.11.003
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Funding
- NCI NIH HHS [T32 CA093247, T32 CA009347] Funding Source: Medline
- NIDDK NIH HHS [R01 DK075607-02, R01 DK075607] Funding Source: Medline
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In insects, control of body size is intimately linked to nutritional quality as well as environmental and genetic cues that regulate the timing of developmental transitions. Prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) has been proposed to play an essential role in regulating the production and/or release of ecdysone, a steroid hormone that stimulates molting and metamorphosis. In this report, we examine the consequences on Drosophila development of ablating the PTTH-producing neurons. Surprisingly, PTTH production is not essential for molting or metamorphosis. Instead, loss of PTTH results in delayed larval development and eclosion of larger flies with more cells. Prolonged feeding, without changing the rate of growth, causes the overgrowth and is a consequence of low ecdysteroid titers. These results indicate that final body size in insects is determined by a balance between growth-rate regulators such as insulin and developmental timing cues such as PTTH that set the duration of the feeding interval.
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