Elucidating temperature-sensitive gene regulation by the Polycomb group and the evolution of robust gene expression in temperate Drosophila melanogaster

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Despite the importance of Drosophilids as agricultural pests and genetic workhorses in the lab, their response and acclimatization to environmental temperature variations are not well understood. Understanding the response to temperature is not only of basic biological interest, but also has important implications for how researchers work with and store this important model organism. Furthermore, as climate change alters temperature at a pace that largely prevents genomic adaptations, and expands geographical ranges of pests like Drosophila suzukii, the question how cold-blooded animals like Drosophila alter their physiology and behavior to thrive over a wide range of temperatures will be of strong relevance to control efforts.This proposed Research Unit will take a synergistic, multidisciplinary approach to studying this problem in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila suzukii, both in the laboratory and in the field. We will use state of the art microscopy and quantitative image analysis to investigate the how temperature influences the robustness and speed of growth and morphogenesis. We will combine cutting edge approaches in lipidomics with dietary manipulations to further elucidate the contribution of dietary lipids to Drosophila thermal behavior. We will quantify the role of chromatin dynamics as well as mitochondrial variation – both known to display striking temperature sensitivity – and investigate the role of metabolic changes mediated by insulin signaling. Finally, we will uncover seasonal variation of the microbiome in the field, and measure how it influences signaling, lipid composition and the viable temperature range. By fusing these different perspectives, our findings will reveal the combined roles of these interacting factors in the important problem of the acclimatization to temperature.