The growth of young animals is closely linked to the availability of nutrients. In an article published in PLOS Biology, scientists demonstrate that, in fruit flies, the gut plays an unexpected hormonal role by detecting amino acid deficiencies and slowing down development through a peptide called Limostatin. This discovery of a new hormone reveals a previously unknown mechanism of communication between organs and opens up new avenues for understanding the regulation of the IGF axis in mammals.

An intestinal hormone that adapts growth to available resources

The growth and development of young organisms are closely determined by their nutritional environment. When food resources become limited—particularly the amino acids provided by proteins—animals slow their growth and delay their maturation. This developmental plasticity is an essential adaptive strategy for ensuring survival into adulthood, but the endocrine mechanisms that translate the organism’s nutritional status into growth decisions remain largely misunderstood.

To unravel these mechanisms, scientists, in a study published in the journal PLOS Biology, used the fruit fly, a model organism whose major hormonal pathways regulating growth—notably the insulin/IGF and TOR pathways—are highly conserved throughout evolution. By studying larvae subjected to amino acid restriction, they identified a new endocrine mechanism that enables the organism to adjust its development to available nutritional resources.

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Reference

Bai L, Montagne J, Ramos CI, Leulier F. “A nutrient-sensitive enterokine coordinates developmental plasticity through inter-organ signaling”. PLoS Biol. 2026 Aug 11;24(8):e3003911. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003911