91PORN

Major Current Research Interests

Ìý

1. Mechanisms by which micronutrients impact food uptake, foraging behaviors and development

We have established a unique system to identify essential micronutrients that are provided by live bacteria for normal C. elegans

Ìýdevelopment. We are analyzing (1) how animals respond to deficiency of specific micronutrients and (2) how specific micronutrients impact cellular processes in animals. You can read more about our recent work that identified aÌývitamin B2 sensing mechanism that regulates gut protease activity to impact animal’s food behavior and growthÌý(Qi et al. 2017 doi:).Ìý

Our new microbiota study has revealed an unexpected role for Enterobactin (Ent), a siderophore made by E. coli, in aiding the uptake of iron by C. elegans. We also found this r