On Valentine’s Day, couples from all over the world enjoy romantic dinners to celebrate love. The link between nutrition and mating is ancient and is not only valid for humans, but is found throughout the animal kingdom.
However, the direct physiological links linking food consumption to reproductive behaviors have only recently come to the attention of science. Researchers at the University of California at San Diego found a molecule released from the gut after a meal in fruit flies that shifts their focus from eating to mating.
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In the study, published in the journal Nature, the researchers found that protein-rich food triggers the release of the diuretic hormone 31, or “Dh31,” a signaling molecule that is released from the fly’s gastrointestinal tract. Their identification of Dh31, a neuropeptide considered a type of chemical messenger, opens the door to the largely unexplored area of gut-brain communication.
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“We found the transition from feeding to mating and were very surprised that a single molecule would have such a profound influence on behavioral decisions,” said Jing Wang, professor of neurobiology at UC’s Division of Biological Sciences. San Diego and author of the study. “Our study provides a mechanistic explanation of how the neuropeptide Dh31 acts on the brain to change the motivational drive of two developmentally critical behaviors.”
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In examining the question of how animals change from a feeding-focused behavior to a mating mentality, the UC San Diego researchers and their UC Santa Cruz colleagues used several methods to arrive at the discovery of the Dh31 molecule. including genetics, three-photon microscopy, and fluorescence imaging.
To confirm their finding, the researchers performed genetic experiments in which Dh31 was eliminated by fruit flies. In these cases, the flies continued to feed and kept mating behavior at bay. In other experiments they activated Dh31 and found that the flies quickly launched into courtship.
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