Daniela Drummond-Barbosa, PhD

Research Description:

Stem cell lineages undergo intrinsic metabolic shifts during differentiation, and they also sense and respond to physiological and environmental factors. My lab focuses on identifying the metabolic and physiological mechanisms that link the behavior of stem cells and their descendants to diet, stress, and other systemic inputs using the Drosophila melanogaster model. Drosophila have well characterized and readily identifiable stem cells, fascinating and complex physiology, and highly evolutionarily conserved biological processes. Our past work revealed a multi-organ network involving insulin-like peptides and other signaling molecules that regulate the Drosophila germline stem cell lineage in response to diet and other external and physiological inputs. Our current research focuses on the following questions: 1) How do specific metabolic requirements change during differentiation from the germline stem cell fate to progressively more developed stages of oogenesis? 2) How do specific diets, physiological factors, and obesity modulate the germline stem cell lineage? 3) How do different types of stress impact the germline stem cell lineage? Our research addresses fundamental aspects of the physiological and metabolic regulation of stem cell lineages that are broadly relevant to stem cells systems in a wide range of multicellular organisms.

Selected References:

LaFever, L. and Drummond-Barbosa, D. Direct control of stem cell division and germ line development by neural insulin in Drosophila. Science 309(5737), 1071-1073, 2005

Ables, E. T., Drummond-Barbosa, D. A steroid hormone functions with chromatin remodeling factors to control germline stem cells in Drosophila. Cell Stem Cell 7:581-592, 2010. PMCID: PMC3292427.

Armstrong, A. R., Laws, K., Drummond-Barbosa, D. Adipocyte amino acid sensing controls adult germline stem cell number via the amino acid response pathway and independently of Target of Rapamycin signaling in Drosophila. Development 141:4479-4488, 2014. PMCID: PMC4302921.

Weaver, L. N., Drummond-Barbosa, D. Hormone receptor 4 is required in muscles and distinct ovarian cell types to regulate specific steps of Drosophila oogenesis. Development 148, dev198663, 2021. PMCID: PMC7970067.

Gandara, A. C. P., Drummond-Barbosa, D. Warm and cold temperatures have distinct germline stem cell lineage effects during Drosophila oogenesis. Development 149, dev200149, 2022. PMCID: PMC8959152.