果蝇和小鼠是生物学家们最喜欢使用的两种实验动物,因为它们的身体结构和行为都足够复杂,基因也已经被研究得非常透彻了。相比之下,细菌的基因组虽然也被研究得很透彻,但细菌太简单了,人类的大部分行为它们都没有,研究成果很难推广。比如,果蝇也会像人一样暴饮暴食,变成一个“胖苍蝇”。很早就有科学家利用这一点,用果蝇作为模型动物来研究导致肥胖的遗传因素。其中,一个名为sNPF的神经多肽引起了大家的注意。顾名思义,这是一个由神经细胞分泌的肽分子,这类分子通 Drosophila and mice are two experimental animals that biologists love most because their body structure and behavior are complex enough that genes have also been studied very thoroughly. In contrast, although the bacterial genome has also been thoroughly studied, the bacteria are too simple and most of the human behaviors do not. Therefore, the research results are difficult to popularize. For example, fruit flies also eat and drink like people, turning them into a “fat flies.” Scientists have long used this to use Drosophila as a model animal to study the genetic factors that contribute to obesity. Among them, a neuropeptide named sNPF aroused everyone’s attention. As the name implies, this is a peptide molecule secreted by nerve cells, such molecules pass