Stoleru Dan, Nawathean Pipat, Fernández María de la Paz, Menet Jerome S, Ceriani M Fernanda, Rosbash Michael
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and National Center for Behavioral Genomics, Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454, USA.
Cell. 2007 Apr 6;129(1):207-19. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2007.02.038.
Previous work in Drosophila has defined two populations of circadian brain neurons, morning cells (M-cells) and evening cells (E-cells), both of which keep circadian time and regulate morning and evening activity, respectively. It has long been speculated that a multiple oscillator circadian network in animals underlies the behavioral and physiological pattern variability caused by seasonal fluctuations of photoperiod. We have manipulated separately the circadian photoentrainment pathway within E- and M-cells and show that E-cells process light information and function as master clocks in the presence of light. M-cells in contrast need darkness to cycle autonomously and dominate the network. The results indicate that the network switches control between these two centers as a function of photoperiod. Together with the different entraining properties of the two clock centers, the results suggest that the functional organization of the network underlies the behavioral adjustment to variations in daylength and season.
此前在果蝇中的研究确定了昼夜节律脑神经元的两个群体,即早晨细胞(M细胞)和傍晚细胞(E细胞),它们都能保持昼夜节律时间,并分别调节早晨和傍晚的活动。长期以来,人们一直推测动物体内的多振荡器昼夜节律网络是由光周期季节性波动引起的行为和生理模式变化的基础。我们分别操纵了E细胞和M细胞内的昼夜节律光输入途径,结果表明,E细胞在有光的情况下处理光信息并作为主时钟发挥作用。相比之下,M细胞需要黑暗才能自主循环并主导该网络。结果表明,该网络会根据光周期在这两个中心之间切换控制。结合这两个时钟中心不同的同步特性,结果表明该网络的功能组织是行为适应白昼长度和季节变化的基础。