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​Sensory mechanisms that influence animal physiology and longevity​

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For optimal survival, an animal has to process complex environmental information to generate the appropriate physiological responses. However, the mechanisms through which animals process complex information remain unknown. Recently, we have identified different neuropeptide signaling pathways that are involved in processing distinct sensory cues to promote different physiological outputs: (i) the neuromedin U signaling pathway in mediating the food-type influence on development and lifespan and (ii) specific insulin-like peptides in promoting distinct developmental switches under certain environments. In the future, we plan to elucidate how these neuropeptides encode and process environmental information to manage different physiological outputs, e.g., development versus lifespan.