Natural harmine negatively regulates the developmental signaling network of Drosophila melanogaster (Drosophilidae: Diptera) in vivo.

The widely distributed β-carboline alkaloids exhibit promising psychopharmacological and biochemical effects. Harmine, a natural β-carboline, can inhibit insect growth and development with unclear mechanisms. In this study, harmine (at 0-200 mg/L) showed a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the pupal weight, length, height, pupation rate and eclosion rate of fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster, which was similar to the inhibition induced by the well-known botanical insect growth regulator azadirachtin. Moreover, the expression levels of major regulators from the developmental signaling network were down-regulated during the pupal stage except Numb, Fringe, Yorkie and Pten. The Notch, Wnt, Hedgehog and TGF-β pathways mainly played vital roles in coping with harmine exposure in pupae stage, while the Hippo, Hedgehog and TGF-β elements were involved in the sex differences. Notch, Hippo, Hedgehog, Dpp and Armadillo were proved to be suppressed in the developmental inhibition with fly mutants, while Numb and Punt were increased by harmine. In conclusion, harmine significantly inhibited the development of Drosophila by negatively affecting their developmental signaling network during different stages. Our results establish a preliminary understanding of the developmental signaling network subjected to botanical component-induced growth inhibition and lay the groundwork for further application.