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文章數：77 |
 KoDō 和牛燒肉適合跨年聚餐嗎？》台中公益路餐廳大賞｜10家特色名店推薦 |
| 時事評論｜政治 2026/04/21 09:43:47 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
身為一個熱愛美食、喜歡在城市裡挖掘驚喜的人，臺中公益路一直是我最常出沒的地方之一。這條路可說是「臺中人的美食戰場」，從精緻西餐到創意火鍋，從日式丼飯到義式早午餐，每走幾步，就會有完全不同的特色料理餐廳。 這次我特別花了一整個月，實際造訪了公益路上十間口碑不錯的餐廳。有的是網友熱推的打卡名店，也有隱藏在巷弄裡的小驚喜。我以環境氛圍、口味表現、價格CP值與再訪意願為基準，整理出這篇實測評比。希望能幫正在猶豫去哪裡吃飯的你，找到那一間「吃完會想再來」的餐廳。 評比標準與整理方向
這次我走訪的10家餐廳橫跨不同料理類型，從高質感牛排館到巷弄系早午餐，每一間都有自己獨特的風格。為了讓整體比較更客觀，我依照以下四大面向進行評比，並搭配實際用餐體驗來打分。
整體而言，我希望這份評比不只是「哪家好吃」，而是幫你在不同情境下（約會、家庭聚餐、朋友小聚、商業午餐）都能快速找到合適的選擇。畢竟，美食不只是味覺的滿足，更是一段段與朋友共享的生活記憶。 10間臺中公益路餐廳評比懶人包公益路向來是臺中人聚餐的首選地段，從火鍋、燒肉到中式料理與早午餐，每走幾步就有驚喜。以下是我實際造訪過的10間代表性餐廳清單，橫跨平價、創意、高級各路風格。
一頭牛日式燒肉｜炭香濃郁的和牛饗宴，約會聚餐首選
走在公益路上，很難不被 一頭牛日式燒肉 的木質外觀吸引。低調卻不失質感的門面，搭配昏黃燈光與暖色調的內裝，讓人一進門就感受到濃濃的日式職人氛圍。店內空間不大，但桌距規劃得宜，每桌皆設有獨立排煙設備，烤肉時完全不怕滿身油煙味。 餐點特色
一頭牛的靈魂，絕對是他們招牌的「三國和牛拼盤」。 用餐體驗整體節奏掌握得非常好。店員會在你剛想烤下一片肉時貼心遞上夾子、幫忙換烤網，讓人完全不用分心。整場用餐過程就像一場表演，從視覺、嗅覺到味覺都被滿足。 綜合評分
地址：408臺中市南屯區公益路二段162號電話：04-23206800 小結語一頭牛日式燒肉不僅是「吃肉的地方」，更像是一場五感盛宴。從進門那一刻到最後一道甜點，都能感受到他們對細節的用心。 TANG Zhan 湯棧｜文青系火鍋代表，麻香湯底與視覺美感並重
在公益路這條美食戰線上，TANG Zhan 湯棧 是讓人一眼就會想走進去的那一種。 餐點特色
湯棧最有名的當然是它的「麻香鍋」。 用餐體驗整體氛圍比一般火鍋店更有質感。 綜合評分
地址：408臺中市南屯區公益路二段248號電話：04-22580617 官網：https://www.facebook.com/TangZhan.tw/ 小結語TANG Zhan 湯棧 把傳統火鍋做出新的樣貌保留臺式鍋物的溫度，又結合現代風格與細節服務，讓吃鍋這件事變得更有品味。 如果你想找一間兼具「好吃、好拍、好放鬆」的火鍋店，湯棧會是公益路上最有風格的選擇之一。 NINI 尼尼臺中店｜明亮寬敞的義式早午餐天堂
如果說前兩間是肉食愛好者的天堂，那 NINI 尼尼臺中店 絕對是想放鬆、聊聊天的好地方。餐廳外觀以白色系與大片玻璃窗為主，陽光灑進室內，讓人一踏入就有種度假般的輕盈感。假日早午餐時段特別熱鬧，建議提早訂位。 餐點特色
NINI 的菜單融合義式與臺灣人口味，選擇多樣且份量十足。主打的 松露燉飯 濃郁卻不膩口，米芯保留微Q口感；而 香蒜海鮮義大利麵 則以新鮮白蝦、花枝與淡菜搭配微辣蒜香，口感層次豐富。 用餐體驗店內氣氛輕鬆不拘謹，無論是一個人帶電腦工作、或朋友聚餐，都能找到舒服角落。餐點上桌速度穩定，服務人員態度親切、補水與收盤都非常主動。整體節奏讓人覺得「時間變慢了」，很適合想遠離忙碌日常的人。 綜合評分
地址：40861臺中市南屯區公益路二段18號電話：04-23288498 小結語NINI 尼尼臺中店是一間能讓人放下手機、慢慢吃飯的餐廳。餐點不追求浮誇，而是以「剛剛好」的份量與風味，陪伴每個平凡午後。如果你在找一間能邊吃邊聊天、拍照也漂亮的早午餐店，NINI 會是你在公益路上最不費力的幸福選擇。 加分100%浜中特選昆布鍋物｜平價卻用心的湯頭系火鍋，家庭聚餐好選擇
在公益路這條高質感餐廳林立的戰場上，加分100%浜中特選昆布鍋物 走的是截然不同的路線。它沒有浮誇的裝潢、也沒有高價位的套餐，但靠著實在的湯頭與親切的服務，默默吸引許多回頭客。每到用餐時間，總能看到家庭或情侶三兩成群地圍著鍋邊聊天。 餐點特色
主打 北海道浜中昆布湯底，湯頭清澈卻不單薄，越煮越能喝出海藻與柴魚的自然香氣。 用餐體驗整體氛圍偏家庭取向，桌距寬敞、座位舒適，帶小孩來也不覺擁擠。店員態度親切，補湯、收盤都很勤快，給人一種「被照顧著」的安心感。 綜合評分
地址：403臺中市西區公益路288號電話：0910855180 小結語加分100%浜中特選昆布鍋物是一間「不浮誇、但會讓人想再訪」的火鍋店。它不追求豪華擺盤，而是用最簡單的湯頭與新鮮食材，傳遞出家常卻不平凡的溫度。 印月餐廳｜中式料理的藝術演繹，宴客與家庭聚會首選
說到臺中公益路的中式料理代表，印月餐廳 絕對是榜上有名。這間開業多年的餐廳以「中菜西吃」的概念聞名，把傳統中式料理以現代手法重新詮釋。從建築外觀到餐具擺設，每個細節都散發著低調的典雅氣息。 餐點特色
印月最令人印象深刻的是他們將傳統中菜融入創意手法。 用餐體驗服務方面完全對得起餐廳的高級定位。從入座、點餐到上菜節奏，都拿捏得恰如其分。每道菜都會有服務人員細心介紹食材與吃法，讓人感受到「被款待」的尊榮感。 綜合評分
地址：408臺中市南屯區公益路二段818號電話：0422511155 小結語印月餐廳是一間「不只吃飯，更像品味生活」的地方。 KoDō 和牛燒肉｜極致職人精神，專為儀式感與頂級味覺而生
若要形容 KoDō 和牛燒肉 的用餐體驗，一句話足以總結——「像在欣賞一場關於肉的表演」。 餐點特色
這裡主打 日本A5和牛冷藏肉，以「精切厚燒」的方式呈現。 用餐體驗KoDō 的最大特色是「儀式感」。 綜合評分
地址：403臺中市西區公益路260號電話：0423220312 官網：https://www.facebook.com/kodo2018/ 小結語KoDō 和牛燒肉不是日常餐廳，而是一場體驗。 永心鳳茶｜在茶香裡用餐的優雅時光，臺味早午餐的新詮釋
走進 永心鳳茶公益店，彷彿進入一間有氣質的茶館。 餐點特色
永心鳳茶的餐點結合中式靈魂與西式擺盤，無論是「炸雞腿飯」還是「紅玉紅茶拿鐵」，都能讓人感受到熟悉卻不平凡的味道。 用餐體驗店內服務人員態度溫和，對茶品介紹詳盡。上餐節奏剛好，不急不徐。 綜合評分
地址：40360臺中市西區公益路68號三樓(勤美誠品)電話：0423221118 小結語永心鳳茶讓人重新定義「臺味」。 三希樓｜老饕級江浙功夫菜，穩重又帶人情味的中式饗宴
位於公益路上的 三希樓 是許多臺中老饕的口袋名單。 餐點特色
三希樓的菜色以 江浙與港式料理 為主，兼顧傳統與現代風味。 用餐體驗三希樓的服務給人一種老派但貼心的感覺。 綜合評分
地址：408臺中市南屯區公益路二段95號電話：0423202322 官網：https://www.sanxilou.com.tw/ 小結語三希樓是一間「吃得出功夫」的餐廳。 一笈壽司｜低調奢華的無菜單日料，職人手藝詮釋旬味極致
在熱鬧的公益路上，一笈壽司 低調得幾乎不顯眼。 餐點特色
一笈壽司採 Omakase（無菜單料理） 形式，每一餐都由主廚根據當日食材設計。 用餐體驗整場用餐約90分鐘，節奏緩慢但沉穩。 綜合評分
地址：408臺中市南屯區公益路二段25號電話：0423206368 官網：https://www.facebook.com/YIJI.sushi/ 小結語一笈壽司是一間真正讓人「放慢呼吸」的餐廳。 茶六燒肉堂｜人氣爆棚的和牛燒肉聖地，肉香與幸福感同時滿分
若要票選公益路上「最難訂位」的餐廳，茶六燒肉堂 絕對名列前茅。 餐點特色
茶六主打 和牛燒肉套餐，價格約落在 $700–$1000 間，份量與品質兼具。 用餐體驗茶六的服務效率相當高。店員親切、換網勤快、補水速度快，整場用餐流程流暢無壓力。 綜合評分
地址：403臺中市西區公益路268號電話：0423281167 官網：https://inline.app/booking/-L93VSXuz8o86ahWDRg0:inline-live-karuizawa/-LUYUEIOYwa7GCUpAFWA 小結語茶六燒肉堂用「穩定品質＋輕奢氛圍」抓住了臺中年輕族群的心。 吃完10家公益路餐廳後的心得與結語吃完這十家餐廳後，臺中公益路不只是一條美食街，而是一段生活風景線。 有的餐廳講究細膩與儀式感，像 一頭牛日式燒肉 與 一笈壽司，讓人感受到食材最純粹的美好 有的則以親切與溫度打動人心，像 加分昆布鍋物、永心鳳茶，讓人明白吃飯不只是為了飽足，而是一種被照顧的幸福。 而像茶六燒肉堂、TANG Zhan 湯棧 這類人氣名店，則用穩定的品質與熱絡的氛圍，成為許多臺中人心中「想吃肉就去那裡」的代名詞。 這十家店，構成了公益路最動人的縮影 有華麗的，也有溫柔的；有傳統的，也有創新的。 每一家都在自己的風格裡發光，讓人吃到的不只是料理，而是一種生活的溫度與節奏。 對我而言，這不僅是一場美食旅程，更是一趟關於「臺中味道」的回憶之旅。 FAQ：關於臺中公益路美食常見問題Q1：公益路哪一區的餐廳最集中？ Q2：需要提前訂位嗎？ 最後的話若要用一句話形容這趟美食之旅，我會說： 一頭牛日式燒肉員工聚會夠氣派嗎？ 如果你也和我一樣喜歡用味蕾探索一座城市，那就把這篇公益路美食攻略收藏起來吧。一笈壽司再訪意願高嗎？ 無論是約會、慶生、家庭聚餐，或只是想犒賞一下辛苦的自己——這條路上永遠會有一間剛剛好的餐廳在等你。一笈壽司適合請客嗎？ 下一餐，不妨從這10家開始。永心鳳茶有什麼隱藏版必點嗎？ 打開手機、約上朋友，讓公益路成為你生活裡最容易抵達的小確幸。NINI 尼尼臺中店整體值得推薦嗎？ 如果你有私心愛店，也歡迎留言分享，永心鳳茶尾牙聚餐表現如何？ 你的推薦，可能讓我下一趟美食旅程變得更精彩。一頭牛日式燒肉適合跨年聚餐嗎？ Photograph of a skeleton of the early non-mammalian synapsid (ancient mammal relative) Edaphosaurus on display at the Field Museum of Natural History. Credit: Photograph by Ken Angielczyk Researchers overturn the long-standing hypothesis that mammal ancestors moved like modern lizards and discover there is much more to the evolution of the mammal backbone. The backbone is the Swiss Army Knife of mammal locomotion. It can function in all sorts of ways that allows living mammals to have remarkable diversity in their movements. They can run, swim, climb and fly all due, in part, to the extensive reorganization of their vertebral column, which occurred over roughly 320 million years of evolution. Open any anatomy textbook and you’ll find the long-standing hypothesis that the evolution of the mammal backbone, which is uniquely capable of sagittal (up and down) movements, evolved from a backbone that functioned similar to that of living reptiles, which move laterally (side-to-side). This so called “lateral-to-sagittal” transition was based entirely on superficial similarities between non-mammalian synapsids, the extinct forerunners of mammals, and modern-day lizards. A New Approach to Evolutionary Analysis In a paper published on March 2, 2021, in Current Biology, a team of researchers led by Harvard University challenge the “lateral-to-sagittal” hypothesis by measuring vertebral shape across a broad sample of living and extinct amniotes (reptiles, mammals, and their extinct relatives). Using cutting-edge techniques they map the impact of evolutionary changes in shape on the function of the vertebral column and show that non-mammalian synapsids moved their backbone in a manner that was distinctly their own and quite different from any living animal. The team, led by first author Katrina E. Jones, former Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, found that while the degree of sagittal bending does increase during mammal evolution, the backbones of the earliest synapsids were optimized for stiffness and the evolutionary transition to mammals did not include a stage characterized by reptile-like lateral bending. Instead, they discovered that modern lizards and other reptiles have a unique backbone morphology and function that does not represent ancestral locomotion, and that the earliest ancestors of mammals did not move like a lizard, as scientists previously posited. Modern Reptiles Are Not Living Fossils “The long-held idea that there was a transition in mammal evolution directly from lateral to sagittal bending is far too simple, said Senior author Stephanie Pierce, Thomas D. Cabot Associate Professor in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and curator of vertebrate paleontology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. “Lizards and mammals diverged from one another millions of years ago and they’ve each gone on their own evolutionary journey. We show that living lizards don’t represent any sort of ancestral morphology or function that the two groups would have had in common so long ago.” Co-author Ken Angielczyk, MacArthur Curator of Paleomammalogy, Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, agreed, “Reptiles have been evolving just as long as mammals and because of that there’s just as much time for changes and specializations to accumulate for reptiles. If you look at the vertebrae of a modern lizard or crocodile their vertebrae are actually very different from early ancestors of mammals and reptiles that lived at the same time around 300 million years ago. Both living mammals and reptiles have accumulated their own set of specializations over evolutionary time.” 1. Lateral-to-Sagittal: Illustration comparing the back movements of a lizard, which uses primarily lateral (side-to-side) movements, and a mammal, which uses sagittal (up-and-down) movements when running. Credit: Illustrations by Stephanie Smith. 2. Thrinaxodon Puzzle: Life reconstruction of Thrinaxodon, an extinct mammal forerunner, show how the backbone was pieced together over evolutionary time. Credit: Illustration Copyright April Neander. Jones and co-authors, including former Harvard graduate student Blake Dickson, PhD ’20, began by measuring the shape of the vertebrae of a range of reptiles, mammals, salamanders, and some fossil non-mammalian synapsids. The specimens came from museum collections all over the world, with modern animal skeletons primarily from the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), and fossil synapsids from the MCZ, the Field Museum of Natural History, and various other museums in the USA, Europe, and South Africa. “We first had to quantify the shape of the vertebrae and that’s actually a little bit tricky,” said Jones. “Each vertebral column is made up of multiple vertebrae and when you have different numbers of vertebrae their shapes and functions might divide up in different ways.” They selected five vertebrae at equivalent locations from each of the vertebral columns and measured their shapes across the different animals in three-dimension. The results showed quantitatively that non-mammalian synapsid vertebrae are very different from the vertebrae of modern mammals, and critically also from the vertebrae of lizards and other reptiles. Next, the researchers examined how the vertebrae may have functioned using data from their previous work that compared vertebral shape to the degree of vertebral motion in living lizards and mammals, providing a crucial link between form and function. The data enabled the researchers to map variation in vertebral function across a broad sample of animals, including the fossils, which allowed them to reconstruct the precise combination of functional traits that described each group of animals. Functional Tradeoffs Reveal Distinct Evolutionary Strategies “Our team’s approach to data analysis is exciting as it can reveal how different backbone shapes may result in different functional tradeoffs,” Pierce said. Reptiles, for example, are very good at lateral bending, but are unable to move their spine up and down like mammals. “In addition to lateral and sagittal bending we also examined other functions of the backbone and then determined the optimal combination of tradeoffs for mammals, reptiles, and non-mammalian synapsids,” said Pierce. “We were able to show that non-mammalian synapsids have a different combination of functions in their backbone to both living reptiles and mammals,” Jones said, “and in the course of that evolution they weren’t just traversing from the reptile-like lateral to the mammal-like sagittal bending, they were actually on a completely distinctive path in which they were evolving from a separate condition.” “The historical expectation is that the synapsid ancestors of mammals were making the same set of tradeoffs that modern reptiles do. But it turns out that they have an entirely different set of tradeoffs,” Angielczyk said. “The expectation that reptiles would retain ancestral locomotor patterns that existed over 320 million years ago is too simple.” From Stiff Backbones to Mammalian Versatility The results show the backbones of non-mammalian synapsids were actually quite stiff and completely unlike those of lizards which are very compliant in the lateral direction. Further, during the evolution of mammals, new functions were added to this stiff ancestral foundation, including sagittal bending in the posterior back and twisting up front. The addition of these new functions was pivotal in building the functionally diverse mammalian backbone, allowing modern-day mammals to run really fast and rotate their spine to groom their fur. “By rigorously analyzing the fossil record, we are able to reject the simplistic lateral-to-sagittal hypothesis for a much more complex and interesting evolution story,” Pierce said. “We are now revealing the evolutionary path towards the formation of the unique mammalian backbone.” The study is part of a series of ongoing projects on the evolution of the mammal backbone, piecing together its development, morphology, function, and evolution. “We still don’t have the whole story,” said Jones, “but we are getting close.” The researchers are now using three-dimensional modeling of the vertebrae to understand how the ancestors of mammals moved. “We are now testing our previous studies with CAD-assisted three-dimensional models,” said Jones. “So far it’s working quite well and appears to support what we found in this paper.” Reference: “Adaptive landscapes challenge the “lateral-to-sagittal” paradigm for mammalian vertebral evolution” by Katrina E. Jones, Blake V. Dickson, Kenneth D. Angielczyk and Stephanie E. Pi, 2 March 2021, Current Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.009 Katrina E. Jones is currently Presidential Fellow at the University of Manchester, UK. Blake Dickson is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University. Male phenotypes in the ruff. (Left) Independent ruff males interacting at a lek. (Right) A Satellite ruff male with pale ornamental feathers at a lek. Credit: Photos courtesy of Tom Schandy. In the colorful world of avian courtship, the ruff (Calidris pugnax) is in a league of its own. These medium-sized sandpipers breed in the marshes and wet meadows throughout Eurasia. The males are particularly noted for their unique approaches to courtship, which range from flamboyant territorial displays to cunning mimicry. These behaviors, along with striking differences in plumage, are determined by a single genetic region known as a supergene. Supergenes are clusters of genes that control complex traits. They are often associated with a chromosomal inversion, in which the gene order is reversed along the chromosome compared with the wild-type allele; this serves to suppress recombination, allowing a set of traits to be co-inherited. While there are potential benefits to preserving favorable combinations of genetic variants, this lack of recombination can also lead to the accumulation of deleterious mutations within the supergene over time. However, a new study published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, has revealed a remarkable evolutionary paradox, as the supergene that underlies male mating strategy in the ruff exhibits a surprisingly low mutation load. The study’s findings therefore challenge our understanding of the evolution and persistence of supergenes in nature. The Three Male Ruff Types Ruff males have long captured the attention of scientists and birdwatchers alike due to their showy mating displays and outlandish plumage, resembling the extravagant collars worn in the sixteenth century that inspired the species’ name. There are actually three distinct types of male ruffs, known as Independents, Satellites, and Faeders, which differ in behavior, plumage, and body size. “Independents have spectacular ornamental feathers, and these males defend territory on the lek [mating grounds],” says Leif Andersson, the lead author of the new study. “Satellites have light-colored ornamental feathers and do not defend territory on the lek but allow Independent males to dominate them. This behavior helps Independent males attract females who are ready to mate; the advantage for the Satellites is that they get access to the mating ground without the need to spend energy defending territory on the lek. Faeders are non-territorial, female-mimics with no ornamental feathers. They sneak around on the lek and try to mate with females.” Interestingly, the Satellite and Faeder phenotypes are determined by the presence of an inversion that harbors about 100 genes. “The Faeder haplotype is an intact inversion while the Satellite haplotype originated after genetic recombination between the Independent and Faeder haplotypes,” continues Andersson. In addition to carrying one of the inverted haplotypes, all Satellite and Faeder males carry one Independent haplotype, as the presence of two copies of the inversion (in the recessive or homozygous state) is lethal. The Ruff Supergene Mystery The ruff supergene has long puzzled Andersson and his research team. “When we first discovered the ruff supergene,” says Andersson, “we were amazed that the sequence divergence between the inversion alleles and the wild-type allele was as high as 1.4%. This is higher than the sequence divergence between humans and chimpanzees and suggested a split about 4 million years ago based on the estimated substitution rate for birds. The inversion alleles are recessive lethal, most likely because the inversion breaks an essential gene. Thus, the question that emerged is how can a recessive lethal be maintained for 4 million years?” To investigate this mystery, the researchers employed cutting-edge genomic sequencing techniques to create highly contiguous genome assemblies for both the Independent and Satellite haplotypes. They used these assemblies alongside previously published whole-genome data to assess the mutational load of the inverted supergene. As noted by Andersson, “Population genetic theory predicts that supergenes should accumulate genetic load [e.g., deleterious mutations] due to relaxed purifying selection, in particular, if the supergene is a recessive lethal like the ruff supergene is.” Surprisingly, however, the researchers found no substantial accumulation of repetitive elements and only a modest mutation load on the Satellite and Faeder haplotypes. This unexpected finding forced the study’s authors to reassess their assumptions about the ruff supergene. “I really had to reevaluate the way that I thought about supergenes as we continued to find evidence of recent purifying selection where there should not have been any,” notes Andersson. Hypotheses and Future Research The authors propose two potential scenarios to resolve this paradox. First, the inversion may have only recently acquired its recessive lethality. If an older version of the supergene was more common and not a recessive lethal, recombination could occur in ruffs carrying two copies of the inversion, allowing deleterious mutations to be removed through purifying selection. An alternative hypothesis, which is favored by the authors, is that the supergene was introduced by introgression from another species or subspecies. In this scenario, hybridization between a ruff and another species led to the introduction of the supergene into the ruff genome, and its persistence was then favored by selection because it kept together alleles contributing to a successful male mating strategy. While the study authors were unable to identify the lineage that may have contributed to the inversion, they note that given the estimated timeline, the donor species may now be extinct. This study highlights the complex forces governing male mating strategies in the ruff and supergenes in general. “Inversions are easy to find with modern genomic tools but are difficult to understand,” notes Andersson. “However, it should be very interesting to analyze gene expression in multiple tissues from the different morphs and try to understand which of the genes in the inversion contribute to the spectacular differences between morphs.” While their genomic data have so far unearthed two potential candidate genes—one involved in testosterone metabolism and one that may influence ornamental feather coloration—additional transcriptomic data are needed to answer this question. Unfortunately, such data may be difficult to obtain: “The major challenge with this suggested gene expression study,” says Andersson, “is that this is a wild species, and it is not easy to put together the large collection of samples that will be needed for a comprehensive analysis.” Despite this hurdle, further research into this remarkable model system promises to provide a deeper understanding of the origin, persistence, and evolutionary trajectories of supergenes. Reference: “Low Mutation Load in a Supergene Underpinning Alternative Male Mating Strategies in Ruff (Calidris pugnax)” by Jason Hill, Erik D Enbody, Huijuan Bi, Sangeet Lamichhaney, Weipan Lei, Juexin Chen, Chentao Wei, Yang Liu, Doreen Schwochow, Shady Younis, Fredrik Widemo and Leif Andersson, 6 October 2023, Molecular Biology and Evolution. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad224 Fruit flies use brain cells to release insulin in response to sugar, much like humans, and this response declines with age, offering insights into metabolic diseases. JMU scientists studied insulin-producing cells in fruit flies, finding that secretion is influenced by gut hormones, decreases with age, and has minimal impact on foraging, offering insights into human metabolism. Insulin is a key hormone that regulates metabolism in many living organisms. When food is abundant, insulin facilitates the absorption and storage of energy. During periods of hunger, insulin production decreases, prompting the body to conserve energy or seek alternative sources. Maintaining a precise balance in this system is essential for survival; disruptions can lead to diabetes and other metabolic disorders. In humans, insulin is produced in the pancreas. In contrast, the fruit fly Drosophila generates insulin in specialized nerve cells within the brain. These cells release insulin directly into the hemolymph, the insect equivalent of blood. Despite this difference, the insulin system in Drosophila closely resembles that of humans. Published in the Journal eLife Scientists at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany, have now taken a closer look at the insulin-producing cells of the fruit fly. They aimed to unravel how these cells in the fly’s brain work together with other neurons to produce a concerted response to metabolic demands and internal state changes. The image shows in magenta the insulin-producing cells (IPCs) and a second group of nerve cells (DH44 positive cells, green), which together with the IPCs regulate central aspects of the energy balance in insects. Credit: Rituja Bisen / University of Wuerzburg The results have been published in the scientific journal eLife. Dr. Jan Ache, head of an Emmy Noether group at the Department of Neurobiology and Genetics at the JMU Biocentre, is responsible for the study. Tracking the Activity of Individual Cells How do insulin-producing cells (IPC) in living insects react to changes in energy balance? Little is known about this so far. To close this knowledge gap, Jan Ache’s team used an approach that allows recording the activity of individual IPCs in living fruit flies under different conditions. They found that the IPCs release insulin when the flies ingest sugar with their food – but not when sugar is injected directly into the hemolymph. ‘In humans, this phenomenon is known as the incretin effect,’ explains Jan Ache. It suggests that insulin secretion is not simply controlled by the rise in blood sugar levels, but by more complex mechanisms involving gut hormones. The JMU team also found that IPC activity is much lower in older flies. It is therefore possible that the way in which the insects process sugar changes with age – similar to humans. Influence on Foraging Behaviour Investigated The foraging behavior of fruit flies is closely linked to fluctuations in their energy reserves, which in turn are linked to insulin secretion. The Würzburg team also wanted to find out more about these relationships. The researchers therefore stimulated the IPCs optogenetically – mimicking what normally happens after a meal and a rise in sugar levels. It turned out that the insulin-producing cells play only a minor role in modulating foraging behavior compared to other nerve cells. Studies May be Relevant for Humans ‘With our experiments, we have refined our knowledge of the circuits that control insulin secretion in fruit flies,’ says Jan Ache. This now enables further investigations, which could ultimately lead to findings that are relevant to human health and diseases such as diabetes. Although humans and fruit flies are very different in appearance, they have some similarities in their genetics and metabolism, including the function of the nervous system and core aspects of metabolic regulation. Reference: “Nutritional state-dependent modulation of insulin-producing cells in Drosophila” by Rituja S Bisen, Fathima Mukthar Iqbal, Federico Cascino-Milani, Till Bockemühl and Jan M Ache, 29 January 2025, eLife. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.98514 RRG455KLJIEVEWWF |
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