9 10 11 12 Running title: sNPF and DILP2 govern starvation-mediated hyperactivity and triglyceride 13 metabolism in fruit flies. 14 15 16 a AEK and HP contributed equally to this work.Abstract: 20 Circadian clock regulates various behavioral, metabolic and physiological processes to 21 occur at the most suitable time of the day. The most apparent behavioral outputs of the clock are 22 activity-rest rhythm and feeding. While clock regulates these two behaviors through 23 interconnected neuronal circuits, the precise pathway through which the clock coordinates 24 metabolism in accordance with the behavioral rhythms largely remains to be elucidated. This 25 study was aimed to elucidate the role of two circadian relevant metabolic neuropeptides, short 26 neuropeptide F (sNPF) and Drosophila Insulin Like Peptide 2 (DILP2) in triglyceride 27 metabolism, starvation-mediated hyperactivity, and food intake in Drosophila. The results 28 showed that snpf transcripts exhibit significant rhythmicity under 12:12 hour light-dark cycles 29 (LD) and constant darkness (DD). Knockdown of sNPF in sNPF producing neurons enhanced 30 the starvation-mediated hyperactivity in flies compared to the control. Further studies showed 31 that sNPF suppresses starvation-induced hyperactivity partly through the sNPF receptors 32 (sNPFR) expressed in insulin producing cells (IPC). Knockdown of Drosophila insulin like 33 peptide 2 (dilp2) in IPCs and reduced expression of the insulin receptors (InR) in the fat body 34 altered the starvation-mediated hyperactivity, lipid storage, and increased the food intake after 35 starvation. These results suggest a role for sNPF in modulating locomotor activity in accordance 36 with the nutrient availability and a novel role for circadian output molecule DILP2 in regulating 37 triglyceride metabolism and starvation-mediated behavioral changes in Drosophila. 38 39 triglyceride metabolism 40 41 42The circadian clock drives daily rhythms in a wide array of physiological and behavioral 43 processes by scheduling it at the appropriate time of the day. This inherent timekeeping system 44 coordinates the phase of two fundamental behavioral rhythms such as feeding and sleep/wake 45 cycles and it is believed to aid the organism to adapt with the cyclic external environmental 46 changes. The growing body of evidence indicates that the circadian clock not only mediates 47 optimal phasing of behavioral rhythmicity during 24 hour of a day but also has intimate ties with 48 metabolism [1]. While the clock orchestrates numerous metabolic pathways, the nutrient 49 availability and metabolic status can in turn feed back to impinge on the functioning of the 50 circadian clock [2], [3], [4], [5]. A large body of evidence accumulated over the past two 51 decades remarkably improved our understanding of the vital role of the clock in metabolism, 52 feeding behavior, and sleep wake cycle [6]. However, little is known about the precise 53 underlying pathways by which the circadian clock aids the organism to attain temporal 54 ...