Marco Gallio Processing of temperature stimuli in the brain

Research Interests

The avoidance of unfavorable temperature is a fundamental behavior in the repertoire of all motile animals, from flatworms to whale sharks. Because temperature preference is both innate and species-specific, it is an ideal system to study how behavior emerges from the activity of the brain and how it evolves under selective pressure, allowing animals to colonize new environments. The Gallio Lab studies the molecular and circuit mechanisms underlying temperature sensing and preference in the fruit fly Drosophila and other tractable invertebrates. These include additional Drosophila species adapted to different thermal environments as well as progressively more exotic insect species that stand out either for their unique behavioral responses to temperature or for their ability to thrive in habitat characterized by thermal extremes in the hot or cold range.

Selected Publications

Capek M, Suhendra R, Yang Z, Omer AD, Weisz D, Dudchenko O, Tuthill J, Lieberman Aiden E, Kath WL, Para A, Stensmyr M°, and Gallio M°. Coordinated molecular and physiological adaptations enable active behavior at subfreezing temperature in the snow fly Chionea alexandriana. Current Biology 2026. Apr 6;36(7):1825-1841. PMID: 41881009.

Capek M, Arenas OM, Alpert MH, Zaharieva EE, Méndez-González ID, Simões JM, Gil H, Acosta A, Su Y, Para A°, and Gallio M°. Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila. Nature 2025. May;641(8062):447-455. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-08682-z. PMID: 40044866 

Jouandet GC, Alpert MH, Simões JM, Suhendra R, Frank DD, Levy JI, Para A, Kath WL, Gallio M°. Rapid threat assessment in the Drosophila thermosensory system. Nature Communications, 2023. Nov 3;14(1):7067. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-42864-5. PMID: 37923719; PMCID: PMC10624821.

 

View all publications by Marco Gallio listed in the National Library of Medicine (PubMed). Current and former IBiS students in blue.