Orcokinin neuropeptides regulate reproduction in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster

SILVA, VALERIA; PALACIOS-MUÑOZ, ANGELINA; VOLONTÉ, MARIANO; FRENKEL, LÍA; EWER, JOHN; ONS, SHEILA

INSECT BIOCHEM. MOLEC. BIOL.

Elsevier

Lugar: AMSTERDAM; Año: 2021

0965-1748

In animals, neuropeptidergic signaling is essential for the regulation of survival andreproduction. In insects, Orcokinins are poorly studied, despite their high level of conservationamong different orders. In particular, there are currently no reports on the role of Orcokinins inthe experimental insect model, the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. In the present work, wemade use of the genetic tools available in this species to investigate the role of Orcokinins in theregulation of different innate behaviors including ecdysis, sleep, locomotor activity, oviposition,and courtship. We found that RNAi-mediated knockdown of the orcokinin gene caused adisinhibition of male courtship behavior, including the occurrence of male to male courtship,which is rarely seen in wildtype flies. In addition, orcokinin gene silencing caused a reduction inegg production. Orcokinin is emerging as an important neuropeptide family in the regulation ofthe physiology of insects from different orders. In the case of the fruit fly, our results suggest animportant role in reproductive success.