Investigating network interactions of nutrition-dependent signalling in Drosophila melanogaster

The development of animal size and shape is sensitive to environmental conditions during the juvenile stages. However, the mechanisms by which developing organs respond to environmental stimuli are not well understood. My thesis explores how the underlying mechanisms that control organ growth and patterning are integrated to respond to changes in nutrition, using the Drosophila melanogaster ovary as a model. Using a range of approaches, I explore how two nutrition-dependent signalling pathways are integrated to regulate ovary development early in the third larval instar.