Institute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, China; State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Chao Ning
National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Yaohua Liu
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong, China
Bowen Deng
Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Zhongguancun Life Sciences Park, Beijing, China
Bingcai Wang
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Kai Shi
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Rencong Wang
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Ruixin Fang
Institute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
Chuan Zhou
Institute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, China; State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Female sexual receptivity is essential for reproduction of a species. Neuropeptides play the main role in regulating female receptivity. However, whether neuropeptides regulate female sexual receptivity during the neurodevelopment is unknown. Here, we found the peptide hormone prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH), which belongs to the insect PG (prothoracic gland) axis, negatively regulated virgin female receptivity through ecdysone during neurodevelopment in Drosophila melanogaster. We identified PTTH neurons as doublesex-positive neurons, they regulated virgin female receptivity before the metamorphosis during the third-instar larval stage. PTTH deletion resulted in the increased EcR-A expression in the whole newly formed prepupae. Furthermore, the ecdysone receptor EcR-A in pC1 neurons positively regulated virgin female receptivity during metamorphosis. The decreased EcR-A in pC1 neurons induced abnormal morphological development of pC1 neurons without changing neural activity. Among all subtypes of pC1 neurons, the function of EcR-A in pC1b neurons was necessary for virgin female copulation rate. These suggested that the changes of synaptic connections between pC1b and other neurons decreased female copulation rate. Moreover, female receptivity significantly decreased when the expression of PTTH receptor Torso was reduced in pC1 neurons. This suggested that PTTH not only regulates female receptivity through ecdysone but also through affecting female receptivity associated neurons directly. The PG axis has similar functional strategy as the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis in mammals to trigger the juvenile–adult transition. Our work suggests a general mechanism underlying which the neurodevelopment during maturation regulates female sexual receptivity.
