Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology · 神経科学
Professor Greg S. B. Suh's research lab focuses on the neural and cellular mechanisms underlying nutrient sensing, metabolism, and behavior in *Drosophila*. The lab investigates how brain circuits, particularly those involving DH44, CN, and cupcake neurons, integrate metabolic signals to regulate sleep, locomotion, and feeding decisions. Using advanced tools such as genetically encoded calcium indicators and deep learning-based 3D behavioral analysis, the lab explores inter-organ communication, including the gut-brain axis, and the role of secreted factors like CIF in mediating social information about nutritional value. The work bridges systems neuroscience with physiology and metabolism, often leveraging *Drosophila* as a model for conserved biological principles.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Animals increase their locomotion activity and reduce sleep duration under starved conditions. This suggests that sleep and metabolic status are closely interconnected. The nutrient and hunger sensors in the <i>Drosophila</i> brain, including diuretic hormone 44 (DH44)-, CN-, and cupcake-expressing neurons, detect circulating glucose levels in the internal milieu, regulate the insulin and glucagon secretion and promote food consumption. Food deprivation is known to reduce sleep duration, but a p
Genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) permit imaging intracellular calcium transients. Among GECIs, the GFP-based GCaMPs are the most widely used because of their high sensitivity and rapid response to changes in intracellular calcium concentrations. Here we report that the fluorescence of GCaMPs--including GCaMP3, GCaMP5 and GCaMP6--can be converted from green to red following exposure to blue-green light (450-500 nm). This photoconversion occurs in both insect and mammalian cells and
The gastrointestinal tract in the adult <i>Drosophila</i> serves as a model system for exploring the mechanisms underlying digestion, absorption and excretion, stem cell plasticity, and inter-organ communication, particularly through the gut-brain axis. It is also useful for studying the cellular and adaptive responses to dietary changes, alterations in microbiota and immunity, and systematic and endocrine signals. Despite the various cell types and distinct regions in the gastrointestinal tract
Sweet-insensitive <i>Drosophila</i> mutants are unable to readily identify sugar. In presence of wild-type (WT) flies, however, these mutant flies demonstrated a marked increase in their preference for nutritive sugar. Real-time recordings of starved WT flies revealed that these flies discharge a drop from their gut end after consuming nutritive sugars, but not nonnutritive sugars. We proposed that the drop may contain a molecule(s) named calorie-induced secreted factor (CIF), which serves as a
Animals are able to detect the nutritional content of sugar independently of taste. When given a choice between nutritive sugar and nonnutritive sugar, animals develop a preference for nutritive sugar over nonnutritive sugar during a period of food deprivation (Buchanan <i>et al.</i>, 2022; Dus <i>et al.</i>, 2011; 2015; Tan <i>et al.</i>, 2020; Tellez <i>et al.</i>, 2016). To quantify behavioral features during an episode of licking nutritive versus nonnutritive sugar, we implemented a multi-vi
Neurogenetic research using the <i>Drosophila</i> model has immensely expanded around the world. Likewise, scientists in South Korea have leveraged the advantages of <i>Drosophila</i> genetic tools to understand various neurobiological processes. In this special issue, we will overview the history of <i>Drosophila</i> neurogenetic research in South Korea that led to significant discoveries and notably implications. We will describe how <i>Drosophila</i> system was first introduced to elevate neu
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