Balancing energy expenditure and storage with growth and biosynthesis during Drosophila development

Sustaining life requires efficient uptake of nutrients and conversion to useable forms. Almost everything about this process is dynamic. Nutrient availability fluctuates and changing environmental conditions impose new demands that can tip the metabolic equilibrium from biosynthesis and macromolecule storage to energy expenditure. At the same time, the organism itself changes, particularly during the rapid growth and differentiation in early development and also later in life as the adult ages. Here we review what has been learned from Drosophila melanogaster as an experimental model about the connections between external signals, signaling pathways, tissues and organs that allow animals to balance energy storage with expenditure in the face of change, both intrinsic and extrinsic.