The control of growth by insulin and TOR pathways in Drosophila: identification and characterisation of modifiers of starvation through a ge

This research projects aim to characterising some general mechanisms of growth control. Growth is a complex process, which depends both on internal cues, or genetic parameters, and external influences, like nutrition, exercise or temperature. It is well r ecognized that nutritional input is of great influence on the genetic program of tissue and organismal growth. Yet, the mechanisms connecting these different influences to growth are not well understood. Growth control machineries have a pivotal role in t he cell, and their deregulation induces developmental errors and a wide variety of pathological conditions including cancer, diabetes, obesity, and depression. Given its fundamental importance, cell growth has not received the attention it deserves. This project aims to understand some aspects of organismal growth control, using Drosophila as a genetically tractable model. In Drosophila, the cell growth machinery is conserved, and in some aspects is simplified version of the vertebrate machinery. The use of a great variety of powerful genetic tools in this system allows unravelling complex mechanisms still waiting for characterisation in other models. It is now fully recognised that molecules of the insulin family have a strong implication in metabolic and growth control in Drosophila. In this system, genetic studies have established that insulin signalling has a key function in the coupling between nutrition and growth. The role of a specific tissue called the Fat body (equivalent to the vertebrate liv er) as a "nutrition sensor" for the whole organism has been established recently by the laboratory hosting this project. The goal of this project is to characterise the role of a new gene called dALS in the modulation of insulin functions in response to t he nutritional status of the animal. For this purpose, we will use genetic loss- and gain-of function approaches, as well as biochemical approaches, using the large array of techniques available in the laboratory.