Browsing by Author "Mirth, Christen Kerry"
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- Adaptation to new nutritional environments: larval performance, foraging decisions, and adult oviposition choices in Drosophila suzukiiPublication . Silva-Soares, Nuno F.; Nogueira-Alves, A.; Beldade, P.; Mirth, Christen KerryUnderstanding how species adapt to new niches is a central issue in evolutionary ecology. Nutrition is vital for the survival of all organisms and impacts species fitness and distribution. While most Drosophila species exploit rotting plant parts, some species have diversified to use ripe fruit, allowing earlier colonization. The decomposition of plant material is facilitated by yeast colonization and proliferation. These yeasts serve as the main protein source for Drosophila larvae. This dynamic rotting process entails changes in the nutritional composition of the food and other properties, and animals feeding on material at different stages of decay are expected to have behavioural and nutritional adaptations.
- Integrating Body and Organ Size in Drosophila: Recent Advances and Outstanding ProblemsPublication . Mirth, Christen Kerry; Shingleton, Alexander W.OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES, FUNDAMENTAL STRIDES IN PHYSIOLOGY AND GENETICS HAVE ALLOWED US TO FINALLY GRASP THE DEVELOPMENTAL MECHANISMS REGULATING BODY SIZE, PRIMARILY IN ONE MODEL ORGANISM: the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. In Drosophila, as in all animals, final body size is regulated by the rate and duration of growth. These studies have identified important roles for the insulin and the target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathways in regulating the growth rate of the larva, the stage most important in determining final adult size. Furthermore, they have shown that the insulin/TOR pathway interacts with hormonal systems, like ecdysone and juvenile hormone, to regulate the timing of development and hence the duration of growth. This interaction allows the growing larvae to integrate cues from the environment with environmentally sensitive developmental windows to ensure that optimal size and proportions are reached given the larval rearing conditions. Results from this work have opened up new avenues of studies, including how environmental cues are integrated to regulate developmental time and how organs maintain proportional growth. Other researchers interested in the evolution of body size are beginning to apply these results to studies of body size evolution and the generation of allometry. With these new findings, and with the developments to come, the field of size control finds itself in the fortunate position of finally being able to tackle century old questions of how organisms achieve final adult size and proportions. This review discusses the state of the art of size control from a Drosophila perspective, and outlines an approach to resolving outstanding issues.
- The roles of juvenile hormone, insulin/target of rapamycin, and ecydsone signaling in regulating body size inDrosophilaPublication . Mirth, Christen Kerry; Shingleton, Alexander WilliamUnderstanding how organisms regulate their body size has interested biologists for decades. Recent work has shown that both insulin/target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling and the steroid hormone ecdysone act to regulate rates of growth and the duration of the growth period in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Our recent work has uncovered a third level of interaction, whereby juvenile hormone (JH) regulates levels of both ecdysone and insulin/TOR signaling to control growth rates. These studies highlight a complex network of interactions involved in regulating body and organ size.