A gut-derived hormone suppresses sugar appetite and regulates food choice in Drosophila

Malita, Kubrak et al. show that the gut-derived hormone neuropeptide F suppresses sugar intake and increases the consumption of protein-rich food in Drosophila. This gives insight into the regulation of nutrient-specific appetite that ensures appropriate food choices to meet nutritional demands. Animals must adapt their dietary choices to meet their nutritional needs. How these needs are detected and translated into nutrient-specific appetites that drive food-choice behaviours is poorly understood. Here we show that enteroendocrine cells of the adult female Drosophila midgut sense nutrients and in response release neuropeptide F (NPF), which is an ortholog of mammalian neuropeptide Y-family gut-brain hormones. Gut-derived NPF acts on glucagon-like adipokinetic hormone (AKH) signalling to induce sugar satiety and increase consumption of protein-rich food, and on adipose tissue to promote storage of ingested nutrients. Suppression of NPF-mediated gut signalling leads to overconsumption of dietary sugar while simultaneously decreasing intake of protein-rich yeast. Furthermore, gut-derived NPF has a female-specific function in promoting consumption of protein-containing food in mated females. Together, our findings suggest that gut NPF-to-AKH signalling modulates specific appetites and regulates food choice to ensure homeostatic consumption of nutrients, providing insight into the hormonal mechanisms that underlie nutrient-specific hungers.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that gut-derived neuropeptide F regulates food intake in fruit flies by suppressing sugar consumption and increasing protein-rich food consumption. This provides insights into the regulation of nutrient-specific appetite in animals.