A sexually transmitted sugar orchestrates reproductive responses to nutritional stress

Seong-Jin Kim, Kang-Min Lee, Si Hyung Park, Taekyun Yang, Ingyu Song, Fumika Rai, Ryo Hoshino, Minsik Yun, Chen Zhang, Jae-Il Kim, Sunjae Lee, Greg S. B. Suh, Ryusuke Niwa, Zee-Yong Park and Young-Joon Kim ()
Additional contact information
Seong-Jin Kim: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Kang-Min Lee: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Si Hyung Park: Mokpo National University
Taekyun Yang: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Ingyu Song: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Fumika Rai: Tsukuba
Ryo Hoshino: Tsukuba
Minsik Yun: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Chen Zhang: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Jae-Il Kim: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Sunjae Lee: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Greg S. B. Suh: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Ryusuke Niwa: University of Tsukuba
Zee-Yong Park: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Young-Joon Kim: Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Abstract Seminal fluid is rich in sugars, but their role beyond supporting sperm motility is unknown. In this study, we found Drosophila melanogaster males transfer a substantial amount of a phospho-galactoside to females during mating, but only half as much when undernourished. This seminal substance, which we named venerose, induces an increase in germline stem cells (GSCs) and promotes sperm storage in females, especially undernourished ones. Venerose enters the hemolymph and directly activates nutrient-sensing Dh44+ neurons in the brain. Food deprivation directs the nutrient-sensing neurons to secrete more of the neuropeptide Dh44 in response to infused venerose. The secreted Dh44 then enhances the local niche signal, stimulating GSC proliferation. It also extends the retention of ejaculate by females, resulting in greater venerose absorption and increased sperm storage. In this study, we uncovered the role of a sugar-like seminal substance produced by males that coordinates reproductive responses to nutritional challenges in females.

Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52807-3 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-52807-3

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52807-3

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().