Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱Today we’re talking about something fundamental — feeding behaviour — but through a lens you might not expect.Not calories.Not food availability.But fat composition.⸻🧬 The central ideaIn C. elegans, feeding isn’t just about energy — it’s about lipid balance.Specifically, the ratio of:• saturated fatty acids (SFAs)• and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs)And this balance determines whether worms:• stay on food• leave food• or actively ignore it⸻🔬 What’s really being sensed?This isn’t happening at the surface.It’s happening at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) — where lipid composition alters membrane properties and activates the stress sensor IRE-1.That signal is then translated into behaviour through:• neuronal serotonin• AMPK signalling• and a neuropeptide system⸻⚡ A new behavioural state: “food apathy”One of the most interesting outcomes in this study is a state the authors call food apathy.Worms:• leave concentrated food• roam even when food is present• and reduce overall intakeThis is not starvation.It’s not avoidance of toxins.It’s a metabolically driven behavioural shift.⸻🧠 The big connection: GLP-1-like signallingHere’s where it gets very interesting.The pathway that drives this behaviour — PDF-1 / PDFR-1 — shows structural and functional similarity to:• GLP-1• GIP• glucagon-related signallingIn other words, the same systems now targeted by weight-loss drugs may have deep evolutionary roots in simple organisms like worms.Even more striking — a peptide derived from this worm pathway shows:• reduced food intake• improved insulin sensitivityin mice.⸻🧠 The take-home messageFeeding behaviour is not just about hunger.It’s about how metabolism is sensed and interpreted.In this case:lipids → ER stress → neuronal signalling → behaviourAnd the implication is big:Some of the most important metabolic signalling systems in humans may have started as basic lipid-sensing circuits in simple organisms.⸻📄 Paper discussedZhu, F.; Castillo-Quan, J. I.; Ogawa, T.; Wu, Z.; Ding, L.; Sura, M.; Watanabe, Y.; Lentsch, H.; Fernández-Cárdenas, L. P.; Dag, U.; Beck-Sickinger, A.; Wang, M. C.; Kahn, C. R.; Blackwell, T. K. (2026)Fatty acid regulation of feeding in Caenorhabditis elegans reveals the potential ancestral origin of a GLP-1-like multiagonist signaling systemProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2530979123 If you enjoyed this episode, please like, follow, and subscribe wherever you listen to the WOrM Podcast ⭐🎧 It really helps others in the community find the show.This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.📩 More info:🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com📧 [email protected]

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