Macroautophagy in Drosophila development

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A biological process called autophagy has garnered enormous attention recently due to its association with aging, nutrient metabolism, stress and human diseases. Autophagy literally means "self-eating" and describes a process in which cells, components of tissues in our bodies, degrade parts of themselves for recycling and re-use. This process typically serves to maintain homeostasis but it can also act as an adaptive response, enabling cells to survive conditions of stress such as nutrient deprivation. Accumulating evidence indicates that autophagy is also involved in numerous developmental processes such as cell growth, tissue remodeling, removal of cell fragments, acquisition of cellular traits and longevity. However, the mechanisms by which autophagy impacts these developmental processes remain ill defined. The long-term goal of my research program is to elucidate the functions of autophagy in normal development in the context of a whole organism. To achieve this goal, my trainees and I will utilize a simple model organism system, the fruit fly, which shares many genetic and cellular components with humans including those required for autophagy. The short-term goal of this proposal is to examine the links between autophagy and lipid metabolism. It is important to understand these links because the regulation of lipid metabolism may be one essential way that autophagy impacts animal development and stress responses, and because we know that lipids themselves are crucial for processes such as growth, energy storage and cell signaling. In this study, we will identify new regulators of autophagy and lipid metabolism, and elucidate the consequences to an organism when these regulators are altered.