Ryusuke Niwa
@ryuniwa.bsky.social
Professor, Physiological Dynamics, TARA, Univ. of Tsukuba, Japan / Drosophila / Parasitoid wasps / X: TsukubaNiwaLab / 丹羽隆介
Our "Dr. Léopold Week” this year has come to an end!
We deeply thank Pierre @leopoldlab.bsky.social for visiting us again.
We also thank Prof. Chih-Chiang Chan and his team from National Taiwan University for visiting us as part of our collaboration!
We had a wonderful party yesterday.
We deeply thank Pierre @leopoldlab.bsky.social for visiting us again.
We also thank Prof. Chih-Chiang Chan and his team from National Taiwan University for visiting us as part of our collaboration!
We had a wonderful party yesterday.
November 1, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Our "Dr. Léopold Week” this year has come to an end!
We deeply thank Pierre @leopoldlab.bsky.social for visiting us again.
We also thank Prof. Chih-Chiang Chan and his team from National Taiwan University for visiting us as part of our collaboration!
We had a wonderful party yesterday.
We deeply thank Pierre @leopoldlab.bsky.social for visiting us again.
We also thank Prof. Chih-Chiang Chan and his team from National Taiwan University for visiting us as part of our collaboration!
We had a wonderful party yesterday.
As has become an annual tradition over the past few years, I am delighted that Dr. Pierre Leopold @leopoldlab.bsky.social from the Institut Curie, Paris, visited us again in Tsukuba and, as usual, gave a lecture on developmental biology to undergraduate students.
October 28, 2025 at 3:42 AM
As has become an annual tradition over the past few years, I am delighted that Dr. Pierre Leopold @leopoldlab.bsky.social from the Institut Curie, Paris, visited us again in Tsukuba and, as usual, gave a lecture on developmental biology to undergraduate students.
Celebration for Naoki's Nature paper!
October 25, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Celebration for Naoki's Nature paper!
Here is a news post about our work from our university:
Even Boneless Insects Have an Endocrine System for Calcium Control
www.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/research-...
Even Boneless Insects Have an Endocrine System for Calcium Control
www.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/research-...
Even Boneless Insects Have an Endocrine System for Calcium Control | Research News - University of Tsukuba
In vertebrates, calcium is stored in bones, and its release is tightly regulated. Now, using fruit flies as a model orga
www.tsukuba.ac.jp
October 24, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Here is a news post about our work from our university:
Even Boneless Insects Have an Endocrine System for Calcium Control
www.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/research-...
Even Boneless Insects Have an Endocrine System for Calcium Control
www.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/research-...
Reposted by Ryusuke Niwa
Beautiful "fundamental physiology" paper in a glamour journal - there is still some hope!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Neuroendocrine control of calcium mobilization in the fruit fly - Nature
The peptide hormone Capa is responsible for regulating extracellular fluid Ca2+ levels in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
www.nature.com
October 23, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Beautiful "fundamental physiology" paper in a glamour journal - there is still some hope!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Excited to share our paper, led by Naoki Okamoto in our group, just out in Nature!
Neuroendocrine control of calcium mobilization in the fruit fly
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We “re”-discovered the calcium storage site in “boneless” Drosophila and revealed how calcium mobilization is regulated.
Neuroendocrine control of calcium mobilization in the fruit fly
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We “re”-discovered the calcium storage site in “boneless” Drosophila and revealed how calcium mobilization is regulated.
Neuroendocrine control of calcium mobilization in the fruit fly - Nature
The peptide hormone Capa is responsible for regulating extracellular fluid Ca2+ levels in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
www.nature.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Excited to share our paper, led by Naoki Okamoto in our group, just out in Nature!
Neuroendocrine control of calcium mobilization in the fruit fly
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We “re”-discovered the calcium storage site in “boneless” Drosophila and revealed how calcium mobilization is regulated.
Neuroendocrine control of calcium mobilization in the fruit fly
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We “re”-discovered the calcium storage site in “boneless” Drosophila and revealed how calcium mobilization is regulated.
Reposted by Ryusuke Niwa
Exciting news for #drosophila #connectomics and #neuroscience enthusiasts: the Drosophila male central nervous system connectome is now live for exploration. Find out more at the landing page hosted by our Janelia FlyEM collaborators www.janelia.org/project-team....
Male CNS Connectome
A team of researchers has unveiled the complete connectome of a male fruit fly central nervous system —a seamless map of all the neurons in the brain and nerve cord of a single male fruit fly and the ...
www.janelia.org
October 5, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Exciting news for #drosophila #connectomics and #neuroscience enthusiasts: the Drosophila male central nervous system connectome is now live for exploration. Find out more at the landing page hosted by our Janelia FlyEM collaborators www.janelia.org/project-team....
Discovering genes essential for stress-induced death in insects | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Discovering genes essential for stress-induced death in insects
Researchers at University of Tsukuba identified genes and signaling pathways that trigger the death of individual insects under stress. When stress levels exceed a certain threshold, these pathways ar...
www.eurekalert.org
September 29, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Discovering genes essential for stress-induced death in insects | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Discovering Genes Essential for Stress-Induced Death in Insects | Research News - University of Tsukuba www.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/research-...
Discovering Genes Essential for Stress-Induced Death in Insects | Research News - University of Tsukuba
Image by Oren Ravid/ShutterstockResearchers at University of Tsukuba identified genes and signaling pathways that trigge
www.tsukuba.ac.jp
September 18, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Discovering Genes Essential for Stress-Induced Death in Insects | Research News - University of Tsukuba www.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/research-...
Our new preprint:
NudC moonlights in ribosome biogenesis and homeostasis in Drosophila melanogaster polyploid cells www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
NudC moonlights in ribosome biogenesis and homeostasis in Drosophila melanogaster polyploid cells www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
NudC moonlights in ribosome biogenesis and homeostasis in Drosophila melanogaster polyploid cells
Ribosomes, the cellular machinery responsible for protein synthesis, are fundamental across all kingdoms of life. Disruption in ribosome biogenesis (RiBi) can cause severe ribosomopathies, underscorin...
www.biorxiv.org
September 16, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Our new preprint:
NudC moonlights in ribosome biogenesis and homeostasis in Drosophila melanogaster polyploid cells www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
NudC moonlights in ribosome biogenesis and homeostasis in Drosophila melanogaster polyploid cells www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A new paper from our group:
Stress-induced organismal death is genetically regulated by the mTOR–Zeste–Phae1 axis | PNAS
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
At least in Drosophila, organismal death caused by excessive stress is not possible without the involvement of a genetic pathway.
Stress-induced organismal death is genetically regulated by the mTOR–Zeste–Phae1 axis | PNAS
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
At least in Drosophila, organismal death caused by excessive stress is not possible without the involvement of a genetic pathway.
Stress-induced organismal death is genetically regulated by the mTOR–Zeste–Phae1 axis | PNAS
All organisms are exposed to various stressors, which can sometimes lead to organismal
death, depending on their intensity. While stress-induced or...
pnas.org
September 9, 2025 at 10:12 PM
A new paper from our group:
Stress-induced organismal death is genetically regulated by the mTOR–Zeste–Phae1 axis | PNAS
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
At least in Drosophila, organismal death caused by excessive stress is not possible without the involvement of a genetic pathway.
Stress-induced organismal death is genetically regulated by the mTOR–Zeste–Phae1 axis | PNAS
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
At least in Drosophila, organismal death caused by excessive stress is not possible without the involvement of a genetic pathway.
A new preprint from our lab.
Xrp1 drives damage-induced cellular plasticity of enteroendocrine cells in the adult Drosophila midgut https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.05.662934v1
July 9, 2025 at 1:06 PM
A new preprint from our lab.
I will give a talk at BIDMC/Harvard, Boston, on May 9 (Fri).
Title: How is calcium ion homeostasis regulated in “boneless” invertebrates? Lessons from the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Title: How is calcium ion homeostasis regulated in “boneless” invertebrates? Lessons from the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: HIRM Seminar - Ryusuke Niwa . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
"How is calcium ion homeostasis regulated in “boneless” invertebrates? Lessons from the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster"
Speaker: Ryusuke Niwa, PhD, Associate Professor, Life Science Center for Sur...
us02web.zoom.us
April 18, 2025 at 11:36 PM
I will give a talk at BIDMC/Harvard, Boston, on May 9 (Fri).
Title: How is calcium ion homeostasis regulated in “boneless” invertebrates? Lessons from the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Title: How is calcium ion homeostasis regulated in “boneless” invertebrates? Lessons from the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
I will be there as an invited speaker.
The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meeting "Mechanisms of Metabolic Signaling"
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meeting "Mechanisms of Metabolic Signaling"
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
Mechanisms of Metabolic Signaling
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meetings & Courses -- a private, non-profit institution with research programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, bioinformatics.
meetings.cshl.edu
April 10, 2025 at 9:58 AM
I will be there as an invited speaker.
The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meeting "Mechanisms of Metabolic Signaling"
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meeting "Mechanisms of Metabolic Signaling"
meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
Our lab group photo with cherry blossoms in April 2025.
April 8, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Our lab group photo with cherry blossoms in April 2025.
Reposted by Ryusuke Niwa
Amazing talks on the fly gut at #Dros2025 !
Fantastic how the field has grown!
Great Stem Cell and Regen session with:
#NewPI Imilce Rodriguez-Fernandez formerly Jasper lab; Yuichiro Nakajima; Jessica Sawyer- Fox lab; Anthony Galenza - O'Brien lab; Qingyin Qian of the @ryuniwa.bsky.social lab
👏👏👏
Fantastic how the field has grown!
Great Stem Cell and Regen session with:
#NewPI Imilce Rodriguez-Fernandez formerly Jasper lab; Yuichiro Nakajima; Jessica Sawyer- Fox lab; Anthony Galenza - O'Brien lab; Qingyin Qian of the @ryuniwa.bsky.social lab
👏👏👏
March 23, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Amazing talks on the fly gut at #Dros2025 !
Fantastic how the field has grown!
Great Stem Cell and Regen session with:
#NewPI Imilce Rodriguez-Fernandez formerly Jasper lab; Yuichiro Nakajima; Jessica Sawyer- Fox lab; Anthony Galenza - O'Brien lab; Qingyin Qian of the @ryuniwa.bsky.social lab
👏👏👏
Fantastic how the field has grown!
Great Stem Cell and Regen session with:
#NewPI Imilce Rodriguez-Fernandez formerly Jasper lab; Yuichiro Nakajima; Jessica Sawyer- Fox lab; Anthony Galenza - O'Brien lab; Qingyin Qian of the @ryuniwa.bsky.social lab
👏👏👏
Reposted by Ryusuke Niwa
I hadn’t anticipated that a ‘novel’ gene could be identified using such a straightforward approach. Remarkable dedication and devotion.
I am thrilled that our paper, which is packed with our 10 years of data on the venom proteins of the parasitoid wasp Asobara japonica, has just been published!
Parasitoid wasp venoms degrade Drosophila imaginal discs for successful parasitism | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Parasitoid wasp venoms degrade Drosophila imaginal discs for successful parasitism | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Parasitoid wasp venoms degrade Drosophila imaginal discs for successful parasitism
Two parasitoid wasp venom proteins induce imaginal disc degradation of its host fly Drosophila larva, ensuring parasitism success.
www.science.org
February 6, 2025 at 10:18 AM
I hadn’t anticipated that a ‘novel’ gene could be identified using such a straightforward approach. Remarkable dedication and devotion.
Identifying venom genes of parasitoid wasps: | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Identifying venom genes of parasitoid wasps: Successful parasitism without immediate host death
Researchers at University of Tsukuba have identified venom genes from the endoparasitoid wasp Asobara japonica, which uses the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as its host. The protein...
www.eurekalert.org
February 12, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Identifying venom genes of parasitoid wasps: | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Reposted by Ryusuke Niwa
Dear All, I believe that this thread will become one of my most important contributions to the fly field (I hope I will make other contributions)! Here, I introduce the Soy Milk Machine Fly Food Method, a.k.a., DeepCook!#Drosophila#NewPI
February 6, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Dear All, I believe that this thread will become one of my most important contributions to the fly field (I hope I will make other contributions)! Here, I introduce the Soy Milk Machine Fly Food Method, a.k.a., DeepCook!#Drosophila#NewPI
Reposted by Ryusuke Niwa
Our latest... Congrats to Seb Sorge, Victor Girard & coauthors for devising HolFast, a chemically defined (holidic) diet for #Drosophila development that performs almost as well as a yeast diet. If you study developmental #nutrition or #metabolism please try it out... www.cell.com/developmenta...
February 4, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Our latest... Congrats to Seb Sorge, Victor Girard & coauthors for devising HolFast, a chemically defined (holidic) diet for #Drosophila development that performs almost as well as a yeast diet. If you study developmental #nutrition or #metabolism please try it out... www.cell.com/developmenta...
Reposted by Ryusuke Niwa
Its a super interesting paper about parasitoid wasps from my previous affiliation. I am feeling happy its finally out as I've seen this story alongside with my time in undergrad - gradschool life
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Parasitoid wasp venoms degrade Drosophila imaginal discs for successful parasitism
Two parasitoid wasp venom proteins induce imaginal disc degradation of its host fly Drosophila larva, ensuring parasitism success.
www.science.org
January 30, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Its a super interesting paper about parasitoid wasps from my previous affiliation. I am feeling happy its finally out as I've seen this story alongside with my time in undergrad - gradschool life
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
I am thrilled that our paper, which is packed with our 10 years of data on the venom proteins of the parasitoid wasp Asobara japonica, has just been published!
Parasitoid wasp venoms degrade Drosophila imaginal discs for successful parasitism | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Parasitoid wasp venoms degrade Drosophila imaginal discs for successful parasitism | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Parasitoid wasp venoms degrade Drosophila imaginal discs for successful parasitism
Two parasitoid wasp venom proteins induce imaginal disc degradation of its host fly Drosophila larva, ensuring parasitism success.
www.science.org
January 29, 2025 at 8:30 PM
I am thrilled that our paper, which is packed with our 10 years of data on the venom proteins of the parasitoid wasp Asobara japonica, has just been published!
Parasitoid wasp venoms degrade Drosophila imaginal discs for successful parasitism | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Parasitoid wasp venoms degrade Drosophila imaginal discs for successful parasitism | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
<Seminar announcement>
Jan 16 (Thu) 2025, 13:15 – 14:30 @ The seminar room, Bldg. A of TARA, Univ. Tsukuba
"Arms race between infectious retrotransposons and the piRNA pathway in animals (感染性レトロトランスポゾンとpiRNA経路の進化的関連性について)"
by Dr. Rippei Hayashi (AIU)（林立平博士）
See the poster below.
Jan 16 (Thu) 2025, 13:15 – 14:30 @ The seminar room, Bldg. A of TARA, Univ. Tsukuba
"Arms race between infectious retrotransposons and the piRNA pathway in animals (感染性レトロトランスポゾンとpiRNA経路の進化的関連性について)"
by Dr. Rippei Hayashi (AIU)（林立平博士）
See the poster below.
January 12, 2025 at 7:33 AM
<Seminar announcement>
Jan 16 (Thu) 2025, 13:15 – 14:30 @ The seminar room, Bldg. A of TARA, Univ. Tsukuba
"Arms race between infectious retrotransposons and the piRNA pathway in animals (感染性レトロトランスポゾンとpiRNA経路の進化的関連性について)"
by Dr. Rippei Hayashi (AIU)（林立平博士）
See the poster below.
Jan 16 (Thu) 2025, 13:15 – 14:30 @ The seminar room, Bldg. A of TARA, Univ. Tsukuba
"Arms race between infectious retrotransposons and the piRNA pathway in animals (感染性レトロトランスポゾンとpiRNA経路の進化的関連性について)"
by Dr. Rippei Hayashi (AIU)（林立平博士）
See the poster below.
Excited to see our new gut hormone paper in @naturecomms.bsky.social in collaboration with our alumnus Dr. Yuto Yoshinari (Gunma Univ.) and others!
A high-protein diet-responsive gut hormone regulates behavioral and metabolic optimization in Drosophila melanogaster.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A high-protein diet-responsive gut hormone regulates behavioral and metabolic optimization in Drosophila melanogaster.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A high-protein diet-responsive gut hormone regulates behavioral and metabolic optimization in Drosophila melanogaster - Nature Communications
Organisms regulate their feeding behavior to prevent overconsumption of certain nutrients. Here, the authors identify the importance of gut hormones in suppressing protein overfeeding.
www.nature.com
January 10, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Excited to see our new gut hormone paper in @naturecomms.bsky.social in collaboration with our alumnus Dr. Yuto Yoshinari (Gunma Univ.) and others!
A high-protein diet-responsive gut hormone regulates behavioral and metabolic optimization in Drosophila melanogaster.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A high-protein diet-responsive gut hormone regulates behavioral and metabolic optimization in Drosophila melanogaster.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...