Thursday, July 17, 2025 7/17/2025

GENES UNDERLYING FOOD-RELATED BEHAVIORS IN DROSPHILA.

Award Number: R01DK070141
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES & DIGESTIVE & KIDNEY DISEASES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/30/2004
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2008

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

GENES UNDERLYING FOOD-RELATED BEHAVIORS IN DROSPHILA. - DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Obesity is quickly becoming a major health issue in our society. This imbalance between energy input and output is in part mediated by inappropriate responses to hunger and satiation. We propose to develop an obesity model using the Drosophila larva that will enable us to rapidly identify, characterize and study interactions of dozens of genes that affect food related behaviors. This will provide us with candidate genes, mechanisms and pathways relevant to human obesity. These discoveries are vital to the development of new genetic and pharmaceutical therapies as well as preventative measures. Aim 1: Genes involved in the regulation of hunger and satiation: The normal behavioral response of a larva to an acute period of food deprivation is to increase its food intake and reduce its locomotor activity. A well-fed larva exhibits the opposite responses. We will perform an insertional mutagenesis screen to identify larvae with aberrant responses to these conditions. The range of effects of each mutation will be quantified. We will specifically measure the larva's food intake and activity levels in response to a series of food deprivation conditions, its health (growth rates, developmental times, survivorship), taste and olfactory abilities, and lipid levels. Evolutionary conservation of DNA sequences and gene function suggests that a subset of these newly discovered genes will play important roles in hunger and satiation signals in humans. Aim 2: Existing variants: Mutations in eight genes and one natural variant that cause well-fed larvae to alter food-related locomotor activities will be localized and characterized. Aim 3: Pathways involved in food-related behaviors: Gene interaction pathways of potential importance to human obesity will be determined by combining mutations and determining if the presence of a second mutation enhances or suppresses the phenotype of the first. Aim 4: Analysis of natural variation in food-related behaviors: Fly genes with human orthologs will be examined at the DNA level for functional polymorphisms associated with obesity-related phenotypes. This will suggest gene regions where functional human polymorphisms may reside. This is a first step in finding genetic variants that underlie human vulnerabilities to obesity


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2007 ( Subtotal = $230,408 )
2007	2007	UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO	**	TORONTO, ONTARIO		00000		CAN	Digestive Diseases and Nutrition Research	000	4	8/8/2007	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$230,408
														Subtotal = $230,408

Issue Date FY: 2006 ( Subtotal = $237,290 )
2006	2006	UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO	**	TORONTO, ONTARIO		00000		CAN	Digestive Diseases and Nutrition Research	000	3	8/17/2006	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$237,290
														Subtotal = $237,290

Issue Date FY: 2005 ( Subtotal = $243,000 )
2005	2005	UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO	**	TORONTO, ONTARIO		00000		CAN	Digestive Diseases and Nutrition Research	000	2	8/12/2005	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$243,000
														Subtotal = $243,000

Issue Date FY: 2004 ( Subtotal = $243,000 )
2004	2004	UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO	**	TORONTO, ONTARIO		00000		CAN	Digestive Diseases and Nutrition Research	000	1	9/20/2004	NEW	$243,000
														Subtotal = $243,000

Grand Total All Awards = $953,698

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

GENES UNDERLYING FOOD-RELATED BEHAVIORS IN DROSPHILA.

Award Number: R01DK070141

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES & DIGESTIVE & KIDNEY DISEASES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/30/2004

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2008

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer