Life Sciences & Biotechnology
Title : | Understanding taste and its
modulation using Drosophila
melanogaster as a model system |
Area of research : | Life Sciences & Biotechnology, Medical Sciences |
Focus area : | Neurobiology and genetics |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Pinky Kain, Wellcome
trust-DBT Intermediate Fellow, Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad, Haryana |
Timeline Start Year : | 2016 |
Timeline End Year : | 2021 |
Contact info : | pinkykain@gmail.com |
Details
Executive Summary : | Understanding how specific taste neuronal circuits influence feeding behaviors
When the balance between hunger and satiety is perturbed, food intake gets misregulated leading to excessive or insufficient eating. In humans, abnormal nutrient consumption causes metabolic conditions like obesity (causing 3 million deaths/year) and eating disorders. Despite this burden on society, we currently lack enough knowledge about the neuronal pathways, circuits and genes that regulate appetite.
By exploiting the gustatory system of the flies, we are interested in understanding how the taste information is wired in the brain and how it is modulated by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Drosophila can sense the same taste stimuli as mammals, including sugars, sour, water, salts, umami, alcohols and bitter tastes. These compounds facilitate acceptance or avoidance behaviors. By using experimental strategies involving molecular, behavioral, genetic, calcium imaging and electrophysiological approaches we are interested in dissecting the taste neural circuits (especially higher order taste neurons) that convey taste information to the brain and are involved in simple feeding behaviors like acceptance or rejection of food. Our group is interested in the gustatory system of Drosophila to understand the feeding behavior, taste circuits and their modulation to achieve the main objectives (1) how specific neuronal circuits influence-feeding behaviors (2) how taste information at the periphery and central nervous system is modulated and (3) identifying the neuronal pathways that regulate satiety. |
Total Budget (INR): | 3,50,00,000 |
Achievements : | 1. Story of Science Image award (Wellcome trust DBT India Allianc, 2018
2. Indian Alliance Fellow Spotlight, Wellcome trust DBT India Alliance, India
(01 February, 2019) |
Publications : | 1 |
Innovation (Innovations/ Patents/ Tech Transfer) : | We are the only lab in India who is working on Taste Neurobiology. We are using Drosophila (fruit flies) to understand the basics of taste behaviour which could be translated to other model organisms as well. Understanding the mechanism of feeding behaviour its relation to longevity, mating and egg laying behavior in insects like Drosophila could help in preparing inexpensive and effective pesticidal baits for pest control.The results will also help treat metabolic disorders like obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. |
Outcome/Output: | Disease carrying and crop
destroying insects use their senses of taste and smell to find hosts and food. Insect-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and Chikungunya are transmitted via feeding behaviors. The results from simple model systems like Drosophila could potentially be applied to safe and cost effective pest control by improving insect trapping strategies and thus reduce pathogen transmission by insects and greatly benefit the agricultural industry and society as a whole. |
Organizations involved