Cellular metabolic reprogramming controls sugar appetite in Drosophila

• DOI: 10.1038/s42255-020-0266-x
• Publication Date: 2020-08-31T16:04:06Z
• Authors: Zita Carvalho-Santos; Rita Cardoso-Figu...; Ana Paula Elias; Ibrahim Tastekin; Célia Baltazar; Carlos Ribeiro
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 2. Zero hunger; Carcinogenesis; Hunger; Fat Body; Ovary; Appetite; Cellular Reprogramming; Pentose Phosphate Pathway; Food Preferences; 03 medical and health sciences; Starvation; Dietary Carbohydrates; Animals; Drosophila; Female; Sugars; Antibody Diversity

Cellular metabolic reprogramming is an important mechanism by which cells rewire their metabolism to promote proliferation and cell growth. This process has been mostly studied in the context of tumorigenesis, but less is known about its relevance for nonpathological processes and how it affects whole-animal physiology. Here, we show that metabolic reprogramming in Drosophila female germline cells affects nutrient preferences of animals. Egg production depends on the upregulation of the activity of the pentose phosphate pathway in the germline, which also specifically increases the animal's appetite for sugar, the key nutrient fuelling this metabolic pathway. We provide functional evidence that the germline alters sugar appetite by regulating the expression of the fat-body-secreted satiety factor Fit. Our findings demonstrate that the cellular metabolic program of a small set of cells is able to increase the animal's preference for specific nutrients through inter-organ communication to promote specific metabolic and cellular outcomes.