A lipid-mTORC1 nutrient-sensing pathway regulates animal development by peroxisome-derived hormones

Abstract

Animals have developed many signaling mechanisms that alter cellular and developmental programs in response to changes in nutrients and their derived metabolites, many of which remain to be understood. We recently uncovered that glucosylceramides, a core sphingolipid, act as a critical nutrient signal for overall amino-acid level to promote development by activating the intestinal mTORC1 pathway. However, how the intestinal GlcCer-mTORC1 activity regulates development throughout the whole body is unknown. Through a large-scale genetic screen, we found that the peroxisomes are critical for antagonizing the GlcCer-mTORC1-mediated nutrient signal. Mechanistically, deficiency of glucosylceramide, inactivation of the downstream mTORC1 activity, or prolonged starvation relocated peroxisomes closer to the intestinal apical region to release peroxisomal-beta-oxidation derived hormones that targeting chemosensory neurons to arrest the animal development. Our data illustrated a new gut-brain axis for orchestrating nutrient-sensing dependent development in Caenorhabditis elegans, which may also explain why glucosylceramide and peroxisome become essential in metazoans.