Diabetic larvae and obese flies-emerging studies of metabolism in Drosophila

The past few years have seen a shift in the use of Drosophila, from studies of growth and development toward genetic characterization of carbohydrate, sterol, and lipid metabolism. This research, reviewed below, establishes a new foundation for using this simple genetic model system to define the basic regulatory mechanisms that underlie metabolic homeostasis and holds the promise of providing new insights into the causes and treatments of critical human disorders such as diabetes and obesity.