Mechanisms regulating nutrition-dependent developmental plasticity through organ-specific effects in insects

摘要: Nutrition, via the insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IIS)/Target of Rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathway, can provide a strong molding force for determining animal size and shape. For instance, nutrition induces disproportionate increase in male horns dung rhinoceros beetles, or mandibles staghorn horned flour relative to body size. In these species, well-fed larvae produce adults with greatly enlarged mandibles, whereas males that are starved poorly fed as bear much more modest appendages. Changes IIS/TOR plays key role appendage development by regulating horn mandible primordia. contrast, changes pathway produces minimal effects on other adult structures, such genitalia fruit flies beetles. The horn, illustrate although all tissues exposed same hormonal environment within larval body, extent which insulin induce is organ specific. addition, affects shape controlling production metamorphic hormones important developmental timing, like steroid molting hormone ecdysone sesquiterpenoid juvenile hormone. this review, we discuss recent results from Drosophila insects highlight mechanisms allowing differ their sensitivity potential consequences differences