Mitochondrial dysfunction generates a growth-restraining signal linked to pyruvate in Drosophila larvae

The Drosophila bang-sensitive mutant tko, manifesting a global deficiency in oxidative phosphorylation due to a mitochondrial protein synthesis defect, exhibits a pronounced delay in larval development. We previously identified a number of metabolic abnormalities in tko larvae, including elevated pyruvate and lactate, and found the larval gut to be a crucial tissue for the regulation of larval growth in the mutant. Here we established that expression of wild-type tko in any of several other tissues of tko also partially alleviates developmental delay. The effects appeared to be additive, whilst knockdown of tko in a variety of specific tissues phenocopied tko, producing developmental delay and bang-sensitivity. These findings imply the existence of a systemic signal regulating growth in response to mitochondrial dysfunction. Drugs and RNAi-targeted on pyruvate metabolism interacted with tko in ways that implicated pyruvate or one of its metabolic derivatives in playing a central role in generating such a signal. RNA-seq revealed that dietary pyruvate-induced changes in transcript representation were mostly non-coherent with those produced by tko or high-sugar, consistent with the idea that growth regulation operates primarily at the translational and/or metabolic level.