FMRFamide (Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-amide)-related neuropeptides are involved in feeding, muscular control, cardioregulation, and learning. In C.elegans, 22 flp (FMRFamide-like peptide) genes are expressed in distinct but overlapping sets of neurons. They encode 59 distinct predicted FMRFamide-related peptides. A deletion mutation caused by Tc1 insertion in
flp-1 gene caused motor and behavior defects, indicating some distinct function of the gene. Vital dye Nile red (9-diethylamino-5H-benzo[a]phenoxazine-5-one) is used to visualize fat droplets in living worms.
flp-1(
yn2) animals, when grown on plates with nile red has reduced nile red staining, compared with wild type animals. This indicates that the neuropeptides encoded by
flp-1 gene might also be involved in fat metabolism in C.elegans. We did a screen of 20,000 F1s for suppressors of
flp-1. Six mutants from F1 and twenty from F2, brought the reduced nile red staining of
flp-1(
yn2) back to wild-type level. We are currently mapping the mutations for further characterization.