Research labs

Nutritional Signals in Insects lab

The main goal of this lab is to understand how nutrition regulates key physiological processes in insects. Thus, its main interest lies in unravelling how the insulin receptor pathway controls reproduction, and also how insects regulate the expression of insulin-like peptides (ILPs), the putative effectors of the signalling pathway. In addition to this, the Nutritional Signals in Insects lab, in collaboration with the Insect Reproduction Lab, studies how interference RNA (RNAi) works in insects, the enzymes involved and their functions and the mechanisms of production and selection of the small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that are generated.

Principal investigator: José Luis Maestro

Members of the lab: Júlia Castro, Master Student; Iamil Ferrer, Undergraduate Student

Oral presentations and talks given: 1

Main publications and other research activities:

Abrisqueta, M., Süren-Castillo, S. and Maestro, J.L. (2017). S6 protein kinase activates Juvenile Hormone and vitellogenin production in the cockroach Blattella germanica. Physiological Entomology 42, 10-16.

Borras-Castells, F., Nieva, C., Maestro, J.L., Maestro, O., Bellés, X. and Martín, D. (2017). Juvenile hormone biosynthesis in adult Blattella germanica requires nuclear receptors Seven-up and FTZ-F1. Scientific Reports 7, 40234.

Rahman, M.M., Franch-Marro, X., Maestro, J.L., Martin, D. and Casali, A. (2017). Local Juvenile Hormone activity regulates gut homeostasis and tumor growth in adult Drosophila. Scientific Reports 7, 11677.

Main outreach activities:

Jury of the research science fair XVIII Exporecerca Jove

Funding (active projects in 2017 only):

More information: Nutritional Signals of Insects lab’s website