Early-life nutrition interacts with developmental genes to shape the brain and sleep behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

We identify genes associated with sleep sensitivity to early nutrition, from which protein networks responsible for translation, endocytosis regulation, ubiquitination, lipid metabolism, and neural development emerge. We confirm that genes regulating neural development and insulin signaling in mushroom bodies contribute to the variable response to nutrition. We propose that natural variation in genes that control the development of the brain interact with early-life malnutrition to contribute to variation of adult sleep behavior.