Funding Source: Award NSF-IOS 1354608 (National Science Foundation, Integrative Organismal Systems) – Developmental plasticity has dramatic effects on the survival and reproductive fitness of organisms. In many organisms, including humans, changes in developmental physiology initiate dramatic alterations in growth and morphology. Attainment of particular body size thresholds triggers these changes in developmental physiology; however, we do not yet know how an organism senses its body size. Research in the Suzuki lab aims to answer this issue by studying the transcriptional regulation of developmental hormones in arthropods (insects and crustaceans) and experimentally manipulating conditions that alter the body size thresholds. Our current work focuses on genes that regulate the production of ecdysteroids and juvenile hormone. In particular, we focus on the endocrine roles of the POU transcription factor, ventral veins lacking, which has been demonstrated to play a key role in regulating hormone biosynthesis. Given the current trend towards precocious puberty onset among youth, understanding the regulation of developmental transitions will have important medical and public health implications.