Ida, T., Takahashi, T., Tominaga, H., Sato, T., Kume, K., Ozaki, M., Hiraguchi, T., Maeda, T., Shiotani, H., Terajima, S., Sano, H., Mori, K., Yoshida, M., Miyazato, M., Kato, J., Murakami, N., Kangawa, K., Kojima, M. (2011). Identification of the novel bioactive peptides dRYamide-1 and dRYamide-2, ligands for a neuropeptide Y-like receptor in Drosophila.  Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 410(4): 872--877.

FBrf0214369

Research paper

A number of bioactive peptides are involved in regulating a wide range of animal behaviors, including food consumption. Vertebrate neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a potent stimulator of appetitive behavior. Recently, Drosophila neuropeptide F (dNPF) and short NPF (sNPF), the Drosophila homologs of the vertebrate NPY, were identified to characterize the functions of NPFs in the feeding behaviors of this insect. Dm-NPFR1 and NPFR76F are the receptors for dNPF and sNPF, respectively; both receptors are G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Another GPCR (CG5811; NepYR) was indentified in Drosophila as a neuropeptide Y-like receptor. Here, we identified 2 ligands of CG5811, dRYamide-1 and dRYamide-2. Both peptides are derived from the same precursor (CG40733) and have no significant structural similarities to known bioactive peptides. The C-terminal sequence RYamide of dRYamides is identical to that of NPY family peptides; on the other hand, dNPF and sNPF have C-terminal RFamide. When administered to blowflies, dRYamide-1 suppressed feeding motivation. We propose that dRYamides are related to the NPY family in vertebrates, similar to dNPF and sNPF.