Emery P, Stanewsky R, Helfrich-Förster C, Emery-Le M, Hall J C, Rosbash M
Department of Biology, National Science Foundation Center for Biological Timing, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, USA.
Neuron. 2000 May;26(2):493-504. doi: 10.1016/s0896-6273(00)81181-2.
cry (cryptochrome) is an important clock gene, and recent data indicate that it encodes a critical circadian photoreceptor in Drosophila. A mutant allele, cry(b), inhibits circadian photoresponses. Restricting CRY expression to specific fly tissues shows that CRY expression is needed in a cell-autonomous fashion for oscillators present in different locations. CRY overexpression in brain pacemaker cells increases behavioral photosensitivity, and this restricted CRY expression also rescues all circadian defects of cry(b) behavior. As wild-type pacemaker neurons express CRY, the results indicate that they make a striking contribution to all aspects of behavioral circadian rhythms and are directly light responsive. These brain neurons therefore contain an identified deep brain photoreceptor, as well as the other circadian elements: a central pace-maker and a behavioral output system.
隐花色素（cry）是一种重要的生物钟基因，近期数据表明它在果蝇中编码一种关键的昼夜节律光感受器。一个突变等位基因cry(b)会抑制昼夜节律光反应。将CRY的表达限制在特定的果蝇组织中表明，不同位置的振荡器以细胞自主方式需要CRY的表达。在脑起搏器细胞中过表达CRY会增加行为光敏感性，并且这种受限的CRY表达也能挽救cry(b)行为的所有昼夜节律缺陷。由于野生型起搏器神经元表达CRY，结果表明它们对行为昼夜节律的各个方面都有显著贡献，并且直接对光有反应。因此，这些脑神经元包含一个已确定的深部脑光感受器，以及其他昼夜节律元件：一个中央起搏器和一个行为输出系统。
