About this Research Topic
Appetite regulation is a key process for the maintenance of energetic homeostasis, a challenge faced by all organisms. Insects, the largest and most diverse group of animals, live in almost every habitat on Earth. Their energetic needs, diets, and feeding mechanism vary widely. Despite this, maintaining energetic homeostasis, at the organismal and physiological level, remains a conserved evolutionary problem. As in vertebrates, insects can regulate their nutrient intake by tasting their food, and through post-ingestive feedback. Recent research has highlighted that invertebrates use different pathways and biomolecules than vertebrates for appetite regulation, yet, many function in an analogous way to the well-studied vertebrate hormonal and neurological pathways. For example, at the physiological level, insects do not have insulin, but instead use an insulin-like protein for carbohydrate regulation.
With this Research Topic, we want to highlight the recent advances that have been made in understanding how insects modulate nutrient intake and regulate their appetite at the organismal, and physiological level. We aim to show how these discoveries can further our understanding of energetic homeostasis under a variety of conditions; ranging from different physiological states, to variation in nutrient availability in the environment. In vertebrates, but also in insects, the dysregulation of appetite and the failure to adapt to a changing nutritional environment can be costly as shown by the modern human obesity crisis. Identification of insect appetite regulation mechanisms will increase our understanding of the conditions and mechanisms by which appetite dysregulation might occur.
This Research Topic encourages the submission of articles related to, but not limited to nutrient regulation and its underlying physiology and neurological mechanisms and comparative physiology of insect appetite regulation from nutrient intake to internal homeostasis mechanisms. Such as:
- Regulation of nutrient intake
- The functional role of hormones and enzymes related to appetite regulation or metabolism
- Impact of hormones and enzymes on appetite regulation behavior
- Submissions related to the ecological consequences of these appetite regulation mechanisms are also of interest
With this Research Topic, we want to highlight the recent advances that have been made in understanding how insects modulate nutrient intake and regulate their appetite at the organismal, and physiological level. We aim to show how these discoveries can further our understanding of energetic homeostasis under a variety of conditions; ranging from different physiological states, to variation in nutrient availability in the environment. In vertebrates, but also in insects, the dysregulation of appetite and the failure to adapt to a changing nutritional environment can be costly as shown by the modern human obesity crisis. Identification of insect appetite regulation mechanisms will increase our understanding of the conditions and mechanisms by which appetite dysregulation might occur.
This Research Topic encourages the submission of articles related to, but not limited to nutrient regulation and its underlying physiology and neurological mechanisms and comparative physiology of insect appetite regulation from nutrient intake to internal homeostasis mechanisms. Such as:
- Regulation of nutrient intake
- The functional role of hormones and enzymes related to appetite regulation or metabolism
- Impact of hormones and enzymes on appetite regulation behavior
- Submissions related to the ecological consequences of these appetite regulation mechanisms are also of interest
Keywords: energetic homeostasis, nutrient intake, comparative physiology, hunger, satiation, neurohormones, nutritional ecology, feeding, eating disorders
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
