Team Leader
Fumiaki Obata Ph.D.

Laboratory for Nutritional Biology

LocationKobe / Developmental Biology Buildings

E-mailfumiaki.obata[at]riken.jp

Please replace [at] with @.

What’s New

Jul. 28, 2023 Research

How a gut microbe causes flies to live fast and die young

Unveiling the "logic" behind the dietary regulation of healthspan

Our healthspan is influenced by the dietary environment. Diet contributes to metabolic and physiological homeostasis by altering nutritional balance and gut microbiota, yet the molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Our laboratory studies the functions of each nutrient and gut bacterial species that are dynamically altered in response to various dietary conditions. We also aim to elucidate the mechanisms by which early-life diet impacts lifelong health. Our goal is to reveal evolutionarily conserved "dietological" mechanisms that govern organismal homeostasis and healthspan.

Research Theme

Physiological functions of nutrients and gut microbiota
Regulatory mechanism of healthspan by early-life environment
Regulation of healthspan by dietary amino acids and their metabolism
Molecular mechanisms of thermotolerance

Selected Publications

Onuma T, Yamauchi T, Kosakamoto H, et al.
Recognition of commensal bacterial peptidoglycans defines Drosophila gut homeostasis and lifespan.
PLOS Genetics 19(4), e1010709 (2023) doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010709

Kosakamoto H, Okamoto N, Aikawa H, et al.
Sensing of the non-essential amino acid tyrosine governs the response to protein restriction in Drosophila.
Nature Metabolism 4(7), 944-959 (2022) doi: 10.1038/s42255-022-00608-7

Yamauchi T, Oi A, Kosakamoto H, et al.
Gut Bacterial Species Distinctively Impact Host Purine Metabolites during Aging in Drosophila.
iScience 23, 101477 (2020) doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101477

Kosakamoto H, Yamauchi T, Akuzawa-Tokita Y, et al.
Local Necrotic Cells Trigger Systemic Immune Activation via Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis in Drosophila.
Cell Reports 32(3), 107938 (2020) doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107938

Obata F, Tsuda-Sakurai K, Yamazaki T, et al.
Nutritional Control of Stem Cell Division through S-Adenosylmethionine in Drosophila Intestine.
Developmental Cell 44(6), 741-751 (2018) doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2018.02.017

Obata F, Fons CO, Gould AP.
Early-life exposure to low-dose oxidants can increase longevity via microbiome remodelling in Drosophila.
Nature Communications 9(1), 975 (2018) doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03070-w

All Publications