Transgenic cAMP response element reporter flies for monitoring circadian rhythms.

The cAMP response Element (CRE)-binding protein (CREB) is involved in many adaptive behaviors, including circadian rhythms. In order to assess CREB activity in vivo, we made transgenic flies carrying a CRE-luciferase reporter and showed that this reporter is CRE and dCREB2 responsive. dCREB2 is the Drosophila homolog of mammalian CREB?CREM. The transgenic luciferase activity cycles with a 24-h periodicity, suggesting that dCREB2 and period are somehow linked. The CRE-luciferase reporter is a useful monitor of circadian activity, and mutations can be found that affect its periodicity, baseline activity, or amplitude. Analysis of such mutations should reveal information about how particular genes affect the molecular machinery of circadian cycling and how different genes affect the activity of dCREB2.