Emery I F, Noveral J M, Jamison C F, Siwicki K K
Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, PA 19081, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 Apr 15;94(8):4092-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.94.8.4092.
The Drosophila clock genes period (per) and timeless (tim) have been studied behaviorally and biochemically, but to date there has been no viable culture system for studying the cell biology of the Drosophila clock. We have cultured pupal ring glands attached to the central nervous system and observed rhythms of period gene expression in the prothoracic gland for 4-7 days. A daily rhythm of Per protein can be entrained by light in culture, even when neural activity is blocked by tetrodotoxin. In cultures maintained for a week in constant darkness, a per-luciferase reporter gene revealed circadian rhythms of bioluminescence. As the first circadian culture system from Drosophila, the prothoracic gland provides unique advantages for investigating the interactions between clock genes and cellular physiology.
果蝇生物钟基因周期基因(per)和无时间基因(tim)已通过行为学和生物化学方法进行了研究,但迄今为止,还没有可行的培养系统来研究果蝇生物钟的细胞生物学。我们培养了附着于中枢神经系统的蛹期环腺,并观察前胸腺中周期基因表达的节律达4至7天。即使神经活动被河豚毒素阻断,培养物中的Per蛋白每日节律仍可被光诱导。在持续黑暗中维持一周的培养物中,一个per - 荧光素酶报告基因显示出生物发光的昼夜节律。作为首个来自果蝇的昼夜节律培养系统,前胸腺为研究生物钟基因与细胞生理学之间的相互作用提供了独特优势。