Biology

Dr. Megha
Wellcome Trust, DBT-India Alliance Early Career Fellow National Centre for Biological Science (NCBS-TIFR), Bangalore

Abstract:

Post-fertilization, a tightly orchestrated sequence of time-sensitive events leads to the emergence of a fully developed animal. A sufficient supply of nutrients is essential for this process, but a disruption in supply does not necessarily halt development or delay it indefinitely. To investigate the biology underpinning this phenomenon, Drosophila development on a nutrient restricted diet was used as the model system. We find that intracellular Ca2+ signalling in a class of neurons that make neuropeptides is required for successful larval to pupal development on a nutrient restricted diet. We have now identified a restricted set of neurons that make two specific neuropeptides and uncovered how intracellular Ca2+ signalling regulates them, in order to finally
promote development on poor food. Additionally, I will share preliminary studies on adapting Drosophila as a model to study the effects of childhood malnutrition.