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Content archived on 2024-06-18

The molecular physiology and the evolution of a new pathway promoting developmental stability

Objective

Developmental stability is the ability of an organism to buffer given traits against environmental and intrinsic perturbations. This may involve physiological, temporal or behavioral adjustments to the developmental program. The processes leading to developmental stability have been particularly well studied in arthropods. For instance, if uncoordinated growth is induced in the larval imaginal discs (the precursors of adult appendages) of Drosophila flies, a transient delay in the onset of metamorphosis ensues, allowing extra time for all discs to achieve their species-specific size and proportion. How exactly this exquisite coordination between growth and developmental timing is achieved is not completely understood. Recently, others and us have identified a fly-specific insulin/IGF-I/relaxin peptide named Drosophila insulin-like peptide 8 (DILP8) that responds to uncoordinated imaginal tissue growth and delays the onset of metamorphosis by inhibiting, via an unknown mechanism, the biosynthesis of the major insect molting hormone, Ecdysone. Loss of dilp8 increases intra-individual asymmetry and yields individuals with a greater than normal range of size variation and time of maturation. Thus, DILP8 is a central player in the communication system that mediates the adjustments to promote developmental stability in Drosophila. Here, we plan to identify the mechanism of action of DILP8 and to understand how this new peptide became incorporated into a conserved tissue-stress sensing pathway. To reach these objectives, we will identify the target tissue/s that mediate DILP8 function(s), the signalling pathway that it acts through, and determine when it originated and became responsive to abnormal growth during dipteran evolution. Our results should provide insight into the poorly understood physiological mechanisms used for interorgan growth coordination, and maybe shed new light into the evolution of new signalling pathways.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Topic(s)

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Call for proposal

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FP7-PEOPLE-2013-CIG
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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)

Coordinator

FACULDADE DE CIENCIAS MEDICAS DA UNIVERSIDADE NOVA DE LISBOA
EU contribution
€ 100 000,00
Address
CAMPO MARTIRES DA PATRIA 130
1169 056 LISBOA
Portugal

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

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