1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, WC1E 6DE UK.
2Institute for Neuro and Behavioral Biology, Westfälische Wilhelms University, Münster, D-48149 Germany.
Commun Biol. 2019 Jul 1;2:246. doi: 10.1038/s42003-019-0497-0. eCollection 2019.
Circadian clocks are endogenous molecular oscillators that temporally organize behavioral activity thereby contributing to the fitness of organisms. To synchronize the fly circadian clock with the daily fluctuations of light and temperature, these environmental cues are sensed both via brain clock neurons, and by light and temperature sensors located in the peripheral nervous system. Here we demonstrate that the TRPA channel PYREXIA (PYX) is required for temperature synchronization of the key circadian clock protein PERIOD. We observe a molecular synchronization defect explaining the previously reported defects of mutants in behavioral temperature synchronization. Surprisingly, surgical ablation of -mutant antennae partially rescues behavioral synchronization, indicating that antennal temperature signals are modulated by PYX function to synchronize clock neurons in the brain. Our results suggest that PYX protects antennal neurons from faulty signaling that would otherwise interfere with temperature synchronization of the circadian clock neurons in the brain.
生物钟是内在的分子振荡器，它使行为活动具有时间组织性，从而有助于生物的适应性。为了使果蝇的生物钟与光和温度的日常波动同步，这些环境线索既通过大脑时钟神经元感知，也通过位于外周神经系统中的光和温度传感器感知。在这里，我们证明了 TRPA 通道 PYREXIA (PYX) 是关键生物钟蛋白 PERIOD 温度同步所必需的。我们观察到分子同步缺陷，解释了先前报道的 突变体在行为温度同步方面的缺陷。令人惊讶的是，-突变触角的手术消融部分挽救了行为同步性，表明触角温度信号受 PYX 功能的调节，以同步大脑中的时钟神经元。我们的结果表明，PYX 保护触角神经元免受错误信号的干扰，否则这些错误信号会干扰大脑中生物钟神经元的温度同步。
