Laboratorio de Genética del Comportamiento, Fundación Instituto Leloir and Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas-Buenos Aires, Av. Patricias Argentinas 435, 1405-BWE Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Curr Biol. 2011 Nov 8;21(21):1783-93. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.09.027. Epub 2011 Oct 20.
Circadian rhythms regulate physiology and behavior through transcriptional feedback loops of clock genes running within specific pacemaker cells. In Drosophila, molecular oscillations in the small ventral lateral neurons (sLNvs) command rhythmic behavior under free-running conditions releasing the neuropeptide PIGMENT DISPERSING FACTOR (PDF) in a circadian fashion. Electrical activity in the sLNvs is also required for behavioral rhythmicity. Yet, how temporal information is transduced into behavior remains unclear.
Here we developed a new tool for temporal control of gene expression to obtain adult-restricted electrical silencing of the PDF circuit, which led to reversible behavioral arrhythmicity. Remarkably, PERIOD (PER) oscillations during the silenced phase remained unaltered, indicating that arrhythmicity is a direct consequence of the silenced activity. Accordingly, circadian axonal remodeling and PDF accumulation were severely affected during the silenced phase.
Although electrical activity of the sLNvs is not a clock component, it coordinates circuit outputs leading to rhythmic behavior.
通过在特定起搏器细胞内运行的时钟基因的转录反馈环，昼夜节律调节生理和行为。在果蝇中，小分子腹外侧神经元（sLNvs）中的分子振荡在自由运行条件下命令节律行为，以昼夜节律方式释放肽分散因子（PDF）。sLNvs 的电活动对于行为节律性也是必需的。然而，时间信息如何转导为行为尚不清楚。
在这里，我们开发了一种用于时间控制基因表达的新工具，以获得 PDF 电路的成年受限电沉默，这导致了可逆转的行为节律失常。值得注意的是，沉默阶段期间的 PERIOD（PER）振荡保持不变，表明节律失常是沉默活动的直接结果。相应地，在沉默阶段，昼夜节律性轴突重塑和 PDF 积累受到严重影响。
尽管 sLNvs 的电活动不是时钟成分，但它协调了导致节律行为的电路输出。
