Team Director
Fumiaki Obata Ph.D.

Laboratory for Nutritional Biology

LocationKobe / Developmental Biology Buildings

E-mailfumiaki.obata[at]riken.jp

Please replace [at] with @.

Unveiling the "logic" behind the dietary regulation of healthspan

The organismal healthspan is significantly influenced by the quality and quantity of the diet, but our understanding of the detailed molecular mechanisms remains limited. Diet contributes to the metabolic and physiological homeostasis of animals directly as nutrients or indirectly via gut microbiome, but a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms is lacking. In our laboratory, we study the physiological functions of various nutrients and gut bacteria during each life stage, including development, growth, reproduction, and aging, as well as the adaptation mechanisms of animals to nutritional over- and undernutrition. We are also trying to elucidate the mechanisms by which transient dietary intake during development and development influences health status throughout life.

Research Themes

Lifespan Extension through Dietary Restriction
Specific Sensing of Nutrients and the Adaptive Mechanism to their Deficiency
Function of gut microbiome and diet-microbiome-host interactions
Healthspan changes by early-life dietary environment
Blood-feeding Behaviour and Metabolic Homeostasis in Mosquitoes
Nutrition, Physiology, and Metabolism in Primates

Research Themes in Detail

Selected Publications

Oi A, Obata F.
Nutrient sensing and signalling of specific amino acids: Insights from Drosophila study.
Current Opinion in Cell Biology (2025) doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2025.102547

Fujita Y, Ishibuchi T, Uematsu A, et al.
Manipulating dietary protein and amino acids in the common marmoset Callithrix jacchus impacts circulating metabolites and FGF21 levels.
Scientific Reports 15 , 31055 (2025) doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-16749-0

Oi A, Shinoda N, Nagashima S, et al.
A nonsecretory antimicrobial peptide mediates inflammatory organ damage in Drosophila renal tubules
Cell Reports 44(1), 115082 (2025) doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.115082

Obata F, Miura M.
Regulatory Mechanisms of Aging Through the Nutritional and Metabolic Control of Amino Acid Signaling in Model Organisms.
Annual Review of Genetics 58, (2024) doi: 10.1146/annurev-genet-111523-102042

Kosakamoto H, Sakuma C, Okada R, et al.
Context-dependent impact of the dietary non-essential amino acid tyrosine on Drosophila physiology and longevity.
Science Advances 10(35), eadn7167 (2024) doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adn7167

Kosakamoto H, Miura M, Obata F.
Epidermal tyrosine catabolism is crucial for metabolic homeostasis and survival against high-protein diets in Drosophila.
Development 151(1), dev202372 (2024) doi: 10.1242/dev.202372

Kosakamoto H, Obata F, Kuraishi J, et al.
Early-adult methionine restriction reduces methionine sulfoxide and extends lifespan in Drosophila.
Nature Communications 14(1), 7832 (2023) doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43550-2

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

All Publications