On April 27th, 2018, James StillmanProfessor Norbert Perrimon of the Harvard Medical School visited the Institute of Biophysics and gave ShizhangBeilecture at the invitation of Li Dong, a National Key Laboratory of Macromolecules at the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The report is entitled "The intricate world of Inter-organ communication."

First, Prof. Norbert Perrimon introduced the main tools for studying signal crosstalk between organs in Drosophila, including CRISPR-SAM, TRiP, etc. These tools can be used to activate or silence genes.

Then, Norbert Perrimon's group used the above tools to elucidate the activation of Yorkie/YAP1 in intestinal stem cells, which can induce the occurrence of colorectal cancer and cause organ waste. The mechanism is that the activation of Yorkie/YAP1 can promote the secretion of ImpL2/IGFBP, which in turn inhibits the insulin signaling pathway and eventually leads to organ waste in the ovary, fat body and muscle.

Next, Prof. Norbert Perrimon talks about Upd2/Leptin fromfat body. Upd2 can activate the JAK/STAT signal pathway in GABA neurons of the brain. Activated GABA neurons can project to the cells responsible for insulin production in the brain and promote the production of Drosophila insulin like peptides, which regulates the energy metabolism pathway.

Finally, Prof. Norbert Perrimon introduced that under the conditions of mitochondrial damage in Drosophila muscle tissue, Activin-β is secreted in the muscles of Drosophila. This molecule can act on the fat body's receptor and activate TGF-β signaling pathway. This in turn caused mitochondrial damage in the fat body of Drosophila.

Prof. Norbert Perrimon's report focuses on synthetic biology as the topic, with vivid explanation and clear thinking. After the report, the researchers and students participated in an in-depth exchange with Prof. Norbert Perrimon. Professor Norbert Perrimon patiently answered the academic questions of each researcher and student and the report was a complete success.

(Reported by LI Dong's group)