Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Center for Behavioral Genomics, Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.
Nat Neurosci. 2010 Jan;13(1):60-8. doi: 10.1038/nn.2451. Epub 2009 Dec 6.
Behavioral circadian rhythms are controlled by a neuronal circuit consisting of diverse neuronal subgroups. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the roles of neuronal subgroups within the Drosophila circadian circuit, we used cell-type specific gene-expression profiling and identified a large number of genes specifically expressed in all clock neurons or in two important subgroups. Moreover, we identified and characterized two circadian genes, which are expressed specifically in subsets of clock cells and affect different aspects of rhythms. The transcription factor Fer2 is expressed in ventral lateral neurons; it is required for the specification of lateral neurons and therefore their ability to drive locomotor rhythms. The Drosophila melanogaster homolog of the vertebrate circadian gene nocturnin is expressed in a subset of dorsal neurons and mediates the circadian light response. The approach should also enable the molecular dissection of many different Drosophila neuronal circuits.
行为昼夜节律受由不同神经元亚群组成的神经元回路控制。为了了解神经元亚群在果蝇昼夜节律回路中的作用的分子机制，我们使用细胞类型特异性基因表达谱分析，鉴定了大量在所有时钟神经元或两个重要亚群中特异性表达的基因。此外，我们还鉴定和描述了两个生物钟基因，它们在时钟细胞的亚群中特异性表达，并影响节律的不同方面。转录因子 Fer2 在腹外侧神经元中表达；它是侧向神经元特化所必需的，因此也是它们驱动运动节律的能力所必需的。脊椎动物昼夜节律基因 nocturnin 的果蝇同源物在一组背侧神经元中表达，并介导昼夜节律的光反应。该方法还应能够对许多不同的果蝇神经元回路进行分子剖析。
