2026
Multifaceted role of Ecdysone in Regulating Organ Growth and Patterning.
Boulan, L., Mirth, C.K. 2026. Multifaceted role of Ecdysone in Regulating Organ Growth and Patterning. Current Opinion in Insect Science. Doi:10.1016/j.cois.2026.101583
Short lifespan under dietary cholesterol depletion is associated with gut dysfunction in Drosophila melanogaster females.
Zanco, B., Mirth, C.K., Sgrò, C.M. et al. 2026. Short lifespan under dietary cholesterol depletion is associated with gut dysfunction in Drosophila melanogaster females. npj Aging. Doi:10.1038/s41514-026-00341-5
Identifying the proximate mechanisms that generate plasticity in fecundity for nutrition in Drosophila melanogaster.
Alves, A.N., Chakraborty, A., Wansbrough, M., Walter, G.M., Piper, M.D.W, Sgrò, C.M., Mirth, C.K. 2026. Identifying the proximate mechanisms that generate plasticity in fecundity for nutrition in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Evolutionary Biology,voag010. Doi:10.1093/jeb/voag010
2025
Temperature and the progression of developmental milestones in embryogenesis of a marine ectotherm.
Belcher, E.K., Johnson, T.K., Mirth, C.K., Monro, K. 2025. Temperature and the progression of developmental milestones in embryogenesis of a marine ectotherm. Open Biology 15. 250062. Doi:10.1098/rsob.250062
Assessing the effect of experimental evolution under combined thermal-nutritional stress on larval thermotolerance and thermal plasticity in Drosophila melanogaster.
Choy, Y.M.M., Cockerell, F.E., Hangartner, S., Mirth, C.K., Sgrò, C.M. 2025. Assessing the effect of experimental evolution under combined thermal-nutritional stress on larval thermotolerance and thermal plasticity in Drosophila melanogaster. Evolution. Doi:10.1093/evolut/qpaf151
Nutritional optima for life-history traits vary with temperature and across locally-adapted populations.
Zanco, B., Morimoto, J., Cockerell, F., Mirth, C., Sgrò, C.M. 2025. Nutritional optima for life-history traits vary with temperature and across locally-adapted populations. Journal of Insect Physiology 163. Doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2025.104815
Dietary Zinc Limitation Dictates Lifespan and Reproduction Trade-Offs of Drosophila Mothers.
Sarmah, S., Truong, H.T.-H.H., McColl, G., Burke, R., Mirth, C.K. and Piper, M.D.W. 2025. Dietary Zinc Limitation Dictates Lifespan and Reproduction Trade-Offs of Drosophila Mothers. Aging Cell e14498. Doi:10.1111/acel.14498
Rethinking the ecdysteroid source during Drosophila pupal–adult development.
Scanlan, J.L., Robin, C., Christen K. Mirth, C.K. 2025. Rethinking the ecdysteroid source during Drosophila pupal–adult development. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 152. Doi:10.1016/j.ibmb.2022.103891
Hunger signalling in the olfactory bulb primes exploration, food-seeking and peripheral metabolism.
Stark, R., Dempsey, H., Kleeman, E., Sassi, M.,Osborne-Lawrence, S., Sheybani-Deloui, S., Rushby, H.J., Mirth, C.K., Austin-Muttitt, K., Mullins, J., Zigman, J.M., Davies, J.S., Andrews, Z.B. 2025. Hunger signalling in the olfactory bulb primes exploration, food-seeking and peripheral metabolism. Molecular Metabolism 89, DOI:/10.1016/j.molmet.2024.102025
2024
Short-term fasting of a single amino acid extends lifespan.
Fulton, T.L., Wansbrough, M.R., Mirth, C.K., Piper, M.D.W. 2024. Short-term fasting of a single amino acid extends lifespan. GeroScience 46, 3607–3615. Doi:10.1007/s11357-024-01078-3
Untangling plastic responses to combined thermal and dietary stress in insects.
Chakraborty, A., Sgrò, C.M., Mirth, C.K. 2024. Untangling plastic responses to combined thermal and dietary stress in insects. Current Opinion in Insect Science. Doi:10.1016/j.cois.2024.101328
Transiently restricting individual amino acids protects Drosophila melanogaster against multiple stressors.
Fulton, T.L., Johnstone, J.N., Tan, J.J., Balagopal, K., Dedman, A., Chan, A.Y., Johnson, T.K., Mirth, C.K. and Piper, M.D.W. 2024. Transiently restricting individual amino acids protects Drosophila melanogaster against multiple stressors. Open Biology 14240093v Doi:10.1098/rsob.240093
Within population plastic responses to combined thermal-nutritional stress differ from those in response to single stressors, and are genetically independent across traits in both males and females.
Choy, Y.M.M., Walter, G.M., Mirth, C.K., Sgrò, C.M. 2024. Within population plastic responses to combined thermal-nutritional stress differ from those in response to single stressors, and are genetically independent across traits in both males and females. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, voae061. Doi:10.1093/jeb/voae061
Timing Drosophila development through steroid hormone action
Morrow, H., Mirth, C.K. 2024. Timing Drosophila development through steroid hormone action.Current Opinion in Genetics & Development 84. Doi:10.1016/j.gde.2023.102148
Temperature and nutrition do not interact to shape the evolution of metabolic rate.
Alton, L.A., Kutz, T., Bywater, C.L., Lombardi, E., Cockerell, F.E., Layh, S., Winwood-Smith H., Arnold, P.A., Beaman, J.E., Walter, G.M., Monro, K., Mirth, C.K., Sgrò, C.M., White, C.R. 2024.Temperature and nutrition do not interact to shape the evolution of metabolic rate. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Doi:10.1098/rstb.2022.0484
2023
GCN2 mediates access to stored amino acids for somatic maintenance during Drosophila ageing.
Johnstone, J.N., Mirth, C.K., Johnson, T.K., Schittenhelm, R.B., Matthew D.W. Piper, M.D.W. 2023. GCN2 mediates access to stored amino acids for somatic maintenance during Drosophila ageing.bioRxiv 2023.11.14.566972. Doi: 10.1101/2023.11.14.566972
Nutrigonometry I: Using Right-Angle Triangles to Quantify Nutritional Trade-Offs in Performance Landscapes.
Morimoto, J., Conceição, P., Mirth, C.K., Lihoreau, M. 2023. Nutrigonometry I: Using Right-Angle Triangles to Quantify Nutritional Trade-Offs in Performance Landscapes. The American Society of Naturalists 201. Doi:10.1086/723599
Dietary restriction and lifespan: adaptive reallocation or somatic sacrifice?
Piper, M.D.W., Zanco, B., Sgrò, C.M., Adler, M.I., Mirth, C.K., Bonduriansky, R. 2023. Dietary restriction and lifespan: adaptive reallocation or somatic sacrifice?. FEBS J, 290 pp 1725-1734. Doi:10.1111/febs.16463
Biosynthetic constraints on amino acid synthesis at the base of the food chain may determine their use in higher-order consumer genomes.
Gómez Ortega, J., Raubenheimer, D., Tyagi, S., Mirth, C.K., Piper, M.D.W. 2023. Biosynthetic constraints on amino acid synthesis at the base of the food chain may determine their use in higher-order consumer genomes. PLoS Genetics 19(2): e1010635. Doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1010635
Drosophila melanogaster females prioritise dietary sterols for producing viable eggs.
Zanco, B., Rapley, L., Johnstone, J.N., Dedman, A., Mirth, C.K., Sgrò, C.M., Matthew D.W. Piper, M.D.W. 2023. Drosophila melanogaster females prioritise dietary sterols for producing viable eggs. Journal of Insect Physiology. Doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2022.104472
Within-population variation in body size plasticity in response to combined nutritional and thermal stress is partially independent from variation in development time.
Chakraborty, A., Walter, G.M., Monro, K., Alves, A.N., Mirth, C.K., & Sgrò, C.M. 2023. Within-population variation in body size plasticity in response to combined nutritional and thermal stress is partially independent from variation in development time. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 00, 1– 16. Doi:10.1111/jeb.14099
Ageing impairs protein leveraging in a sex-specific manner in Drosophila melanogaster.
Rushby, H.J., Andrews, Z.B, Piper, M.D.W., Mirth, C.K. 2023. Ageing impairs protein leveraging in a sex-specific manner in Drosophila melanogaster. Animal Behaviour 195, 43-51. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.10.013
2022
Restricting a single amino acid cross-protects D. melanogaster from nicotine poisoning through mTORC1 and GCN2 signalling.
Fulton, T.L., Mirth, C.K., Piper, M.D.W. 2022. Restricting a single amino acid cross-protects D. melanogaster from nicotine poisoning through mTORC1 and GCN2 signalling. Open Biology 12. Doi:10.1098/rsob.220319
Rethinking the ecdysteroid source during Drosophila pupal–adult development.
Scanlan, J.L., Robin, C., Mirth, C.K. 2022. Rethinking the ecdysteroid source during Drosophila pupal–adult development. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 103891. doi:10.1016/j.ibmb.2022.103891
Nutrigonometry I: using right-angle triangles to quantify nutritional trade-offs in performance landscapes.
Morimoto, J., Conceição, P., Mirth, C., Lihoreau, M. 2022. Nutrigonometry I: using right-angle triangles to quantify nutritional trade-offs in performance landscapes. The American Naturalist. Doi:10.1086/723599
When does diet matter? The roles of larval and adult nutrition in regulating adult size traits.
Poças, G.M., Crosbie, A.E. & Mirth, C.K. 2022. When does diet matter? The roles of larval and adult nutrition in regulating adult size traits. Journal of Insect Physiology 139, 104051. Doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104051
Amino acid quality modifies the quantitative availability of protein for reproduction in Drosophila melanogaster.
Ma, C., Mirth, C.K., Hall, M.D. & Piper, M.D.W. 2022. Amino acid quality modifies the quantitative availability of protein for reproduction in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Insect Physiology. Doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104050
An integrative approach to dietary balance across the life course.
Raubenheimer, D., Senior, A.M., Mirth, C.K., Cui, Z., Hou, R., Le Couteur, D.G., Solon-Biet, S.M., Léopold, P., Simpson, S.J. 2022. An integrative approach to dietary balance across the life course. ISCIENCE doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.104315
Genetic variation of macronutrient tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster.
Francis, D., Hasygar, K., Liu, Y., Alton, L.A., Johnstone, J., Needham, E.J., Pulpitel, T., Clark, T., Niranjan, H.N., Shang, V., Tong, V., Jiwnani, N., Audia, G., Alves, A.N., Sylow, L., Mirth, C., Neely, G.G., Yang, J., Hietakangas, V., Simpson S.J., Senior A.M. 2022. Genetic variation of macronutrient tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature Communications 13, 1637. Doi:10.1038/s41467-022-29183-x
Ecdysone coordinates plastic growth with robust pattern in the developing wing.
Alves, A.N., Oliveira, M.M., Koyama, T., Shingleton, A., Mirth, C.K. 2022. Ecdysone coordinates plastic growth with robust pattern in the developing wing. eLife 11, e72666. Doi:10.7554/eLife.72666
Target of Rapamycin Drives Unequal Responses to Essential Amino Acid Depletion for Egg Laying in Drosophila Melanogaster.
Alves, A.N., Sgrò, C.M., Piper, M.D.W., Mirth, C.K. 2022. Target of Rapamycin Drives Unequal Responses to Essential Amino Acid Depletion for Egg Laying in Drosophila Melanogaster. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology 10:822685. Doi: 10.3389/fcell.2022.822685
Dietary restriction and lifespan: adaptive reallocation or somatic sacrifice?
Piper, M.D.W., Zanco, B., Sgrò, C.M., Adler, M.I., Mirth, C.K. and Bonduriansky, R. 2022. Dietary restriction and lifespan: adaptive reallocation or somatic sacrifice? FEBS Journal. Doi:10.1111/febs.16463
Maintaining robust size across environmental conditions through plastic brain growth dynamics.
Cobham, A.E., Neumann, B., Mirth, C.K. 2022. Maintaining robust size across environmental conditions through plastic brain growth dynamics. Open Biology 12 (9), 220037. doi:10.1098/rsob.220037
Evaluating old truths: Final adult size in holometabolous insects is set by the end of larval development.
Hanna, L., Lamouret, T., Poças, G.M., Mirth, C.K., Moczek, A.P., Nijhout, F.H., Abouheif, E. 2022. Evaluating old truths: Final adult size in holometabolous insects is set by the end of larval development. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution. Doi:10.1002/jez.b.23165
2021
The proximate sources of genetic variation in body size plasticity: the relative contributions of feeding behaviour and development in Drosophila melanogaster.
Chakraborty, A, Sgrò, C.M., Mirth, C.K. 2021. The proximate sources of genetic variation in body size plasticity: the relative contributions of feeding behaviour and development in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Insect Physiology. Doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2021.104321
The Number of Larval Molts Is Controlled by Hox in Caterpillars.
Daimon, T., Koyama, T., Yamamoto, G., Sezutsu, H., Mirth, C.K., Shinoda, T. 2021. The Number of Larval Molts Is Controlled by Hox in Caterpillars. Current Biology. Doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.017
Regulation of ecdysone production in Drosophila by neuropeptides and peptide hormones.
