Barberà Miquel, Collantes-Alegre Jorge Mariano, Martínez-Torres David
Institut de Biologia Integrativa de Sistemes, Parc Científic Universitat de València, Paterna, València, Spain.
Insect Mol Biol. 2022 Apr;31(2):159-169. doi: 10.1111/imb.12747. Epub 2021 Nov 22.
Aphids are paradigmatic photoperiodic animals often used to study the role of the circadian clock in the seasonal response. Previously, we described some elements of the circadian clock core (genes period and timeless) and output (melatonin, AANATs and PTTH) that could have a role in the regulation of the aphid seasonal response. More recently, we identified two opsins (C-ops and SWO4) as candidate input photoperiodic receptors. In the present report, we focus on the study of cryptochromes (cry) as photoreceptors of the circadian clock and discuss their involvement in the seasonal response. We analyse the expression of cry1 and cry2 genes in a circadian and seasonal context, and map their expression sites in the brain. We observe a robust rhythmic expression of cry2 peaking at dusk in phase with core clock genes period and timeless, while cry1 shows a weaker rhythm. Changes in cry1 and cry2 expression correlate with activation of the seasonal response, suggesting a possible link. Finally, we map the expression of cry1 and cry2 genes to clock neurons in the pars lateralis, a region essential for the photoperiodic response. Our results support a role for cry as elements of the aphid circadian clock and suggest a role in photoreception for cry1 and in clock repression for cry2.
蚜虫是典型的光周期动物，常被用于研究生物钟在季节性反应中的作用。此前，我们描述了生物钟核心（周期基因和无时间基因）及输出（褪黑素、芳香胺N-乙酰基转移酶和促前胸腺激素）的一些可能在蚜虫季节性反应调节中发挥作用的元件。最近，我们鉴定出两种视蛋白（C-视蛋白和SWO4）作为候选输入光周期受体。在本报告中，我们专注于对隐花色素（cry）作为生物钟光感受器的研究，并讨论它们在季节性反应中的作用。我们分析了cry1和cry2基因在昼夜节律和季节背景下的表达情况，并绘制了它们在大脑中的表达位点。我们观察到cry2呈现出强劲的节律性表达，在黄昏时达到峰值，与生物钟核心基因周期和无时间基因同步，而cry1的节律则较弱。cry1和cry2表达的变化与季节性反应的激活相关，表明可能存在联系。最后，我们将cry1和cry2基因的表达定位到外侧区的生物钟神经元，该区域对光周期反应至关重要。我们的结果支持cry作为蚜虫生物钟元件的作用，并表明cry1在光感受中发挥作用，cry2在生物钟抑制中发挥作用。
