Insulin signalling regulates remating in female Drosophila

Wigby, Stuart, Slack, Cathy, Grönke, Sebastian, Martinez, Pedro, Calboli, Federico C. F., Chapman, Tracey and Partridge, Linda (2011) Insulin signalling regulates remating in female Drosophila. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 278 (1704). pp. 424-431. ISSN 0962-8452

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Abstract

Mating rate is a major determinant of female lifespan and fitness, and is predicted to optimize at an intermediate level, beyond which superfluous matings are costly. In female Drosophila melanogaster, nutrition is a key regulator of mating rate but the underlying mechanism is unknown. The evolutionarily conserved insulin/insulin-like growth factor-like signalling (IIS) pathway is responsive to nutrition, and regulates development, metabolism, stress resistance, fecundity and lifespan. Here we show that inhibition of IIS, by ablation of Drosophila insulin-like peptide (DILP)-producing median neurosecretory cells, knockout of dilp2, dilp3 or dilp5 genes, expression of a dominant-negative DILP-receptor (InR) transgene or knockout of Lnk, results in reduced female remating rates. IIS-mediated regulation of female remating can occur independent of virgin receptivity, developmental defects, reduced body size or fecundity, and the receipt of the female receptivity-inhibiting male sex peptide. Our results provide a likely mechanism by which females match remating rates to the perceived nutritional environment. The findings suggest that longevity-mediating genes could often have pleiotropic effects on remating rate. However, overexpression of the IIS-regulated transcription factor dFOXO in the fat body—which extends lifespan—does not affect remating rate. Thus, long life and reduced remating are not obligatorily coupled.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Organisms and the Environment Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Depositing User:	Users 2731 not found.
Date Deposited:	15 Aug 2011 10:36
Last Modified:	15 May 2023 00:03
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/34530
DOI:	10.1098/rspb.2010.1390

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