Feeding

Feeding is a fundamental activity of all animals that can be regulated by internal energy status or external sensory signals.
Our lab is studying the molecular mechanisms through which feeding behavior of animals is regulated. Using Drosophila larvae as a model system, we are interested in finding out how animals sense their body's nutrient status and how this information is relayed and processed in the nervous system. Two experimental strategies are being followed.
First is to identify genes involved in controlling food intake by a classical mutagenesis screen. An amino acid metabolizing enzyme and a histone acetyltransferase have already been identified through this larval feeding screen.
The second is a genome wide search for genes regulated by nutrient signals using DNA microarray technology. We are also interested in determining whether the mechanisms underlying nutrient signaling is conserved in mammals. To this end, we have also begun to identify and study the function of homologous genes in mouse.

In April 2006 the second European Meeting on Drosophila larvae neurobiology took place at Manchester University. It was called the Manchester Maggot Meeting and it was organized by Matthew Cobb.
A few days after the meeting Matthew Cobb gave an interview on Scientific American web radio. Here is a part of this interview in which he answers the question what we can learn from Drosophila larvea about neurobiology:
Download Interview (~3 minutes MP3; ~1.4 MB)