Coupling of autonomous cellular oscillators is an essential aspect circadian clock function but little known about its circuit requirements. Functional ablation the pigment-dispersing factor-expressing lateral ventral subset (LN V ) Drosophila neurons abolishes rhythms locomotor activity. The hypothesis that LN s synchronize oscillations in downstream was tested by rendering hyperexcitable via transgenic expression a low activation threshold voltage-gated sodium channel. When are made...

The ventral lateral neurons (LNvs) of adult Drosophila brain express oscillating clock proteins and regulate circadian behavior. Whole cell current-clamp recordings large LNvs in freshly dissected whole preparations reveal two spontaneous activity patterns that correlate with underlying membrane potential: tonic burst firing sodium-dependent action potentials. Resting potential are rapidly reversibly regulated by acute changes light intensity. LNv electrophysiological response is attenuated,...

<i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> is a leading genetic model system in nervous development and disease research. Using the power of fly genetics traumatic axonal injury research will significantly speed up characterization molecular processes that control regeneration CNS. We developed versatile physiologically robust preparation for long-term culture whole <i>Drosophila</i> brain. use this method to develop novel CNS regeneration. first show that, similar mammalian axons, injured adult...

Circadian pacemaker circuits consist of ensembles neurons, each expressing molecular oscillations, but how circuit-wide coordination multiple oscillators regulates rhythmic physiological and behavioral outputs remains an open question. To investigate the relationship between pattern oscillator phase throughout circadian circuit locomotor activity rhythms in Drosophila , we perturbed electrical pigment dispersing factor (PDF) levels lateral ventral neurons (LNv) assayed their combinatorial...

Light-activated large ventral lateral clock neurons (large LNv) modulate behavioral arousal and sleep in Drosophila while their counterparts, the small LNv (s-LNv) are important for circadian behavior. Recently, it has been proposed that pattern of day-night locomotor activity is mediated by two anatomically distinct oscillators composed a morning oscillator an evening dorsal undefined number pacemaker neurons. This contrasts with circuit described network models which not as constrained. By...

Studies on circadian entrainment have traditionally been performed under controlled laboratory conditions. Although these studies served the purpose of providing a broad framework for our understanding regulation rhythmic behaviors cyclic conditions, they do not reveal how organisms keep time in nature. few recent attempted to address this, it is yet clear which environmental factors regulate nature and how. Here, we report results aimed at examining ( i ) whether changes natural light...

Circadian clocks modulate timing of sleep/wake cycles in animals; however, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In Drosophila melanogaster , large ventral lateral neurons (l-LN v ) are known to promote wakefulness through action neuropeptide pigment dispersing factor (PDF), but downstream targets PDF signalling elusive. a screen using downregulation or overexpression (OEX) gene encoding receptor ( pdfr ), we found that subset dopaminergic responds during day. Moreover, small...

Bioorthogonal strategies are continuing to pave the way for new analytical tools in biology. Although a significant amount of progress has been made developing covalent reaction based bioorthogonal strategies, balanced reactivity, and stability often difficult achieve from these systems. Alternatively, despite being kinetically beneficial, development noncovalent approaches that utilize fully synthetic stable components remains challenging due lack selectivity conventional interactions...

Four large ( n &gt; 1000) populations of Drosophila melanogaster , derived from control maintained on a 3 week discrete generation cycle, were subjected to selection for fast development and early reproduction. Egg eclosion survivorship time dry weight at monitored every 10 generations. Over 70 generations selection, in the selected decreased by approximately 36 h relative controls, 20% decline. The difference male female was also reduced populations. Flies increasingly lighter than with...

The effects of different light regimes on the fitness organisms have typically been studied using mean or median adult life span as sole index physiological well-being. It is, however, known that is inversely related to reproductive output in many species. Moreover, a given environmental treatment can be due either age-independent mortality “rate aging,” combination both. Drawing evolutionary inferences from regime alone difficult and, at best, speculative. We examined constant (LL),...

Drosophila larvae and adult pacemaker neurons both express free-running oscillations of period (PER) timeless (TIM) proteins that constitute the core cell-autonomous circadian molecular clock. Despite similarities between larval oscillators, adults differ substantially in complexity organization their neural circuits, as well behavioral manifestations rhythmicity. We have shown previously electrical silencing through targeted expression either an open rectifier or inward K(+) channel stops...

We utilized an NMR-based metabolomic approach to profile the metabolites in Drosophila melanogaster that cycle with a daily rhythm. 1H 1D and 2D NMR experiments were performed on whole-body extracts sampled from flies experienced strong time cues form of both light temperature cycles. Multivariate univariate statistical analysis was used identify those whose concentrations oscillate diurnally. compared metabolite levels at two points twelve hours apart, one close end day other night,...

In fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster, environmental cycles of light and temperature are known to influence behavioral rhythms through dedicated sensory receptors. But the thermosensory pathways molecular receptors by which thermal modulate locomotor activity remain unclear. Here, we report that neurons expressing warmth-activated ion channel Transient Receptor Potential-A1 (dTRPA1) distinct aspects rhythmic activity/rest rhythm in a light-dependent manner. Under light/dark (LD) paired with...

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has long served as a model system for circadian rhythm research. Various aspects of its genetic, molecular, and circuit-level properties are the subject investigation, based on which several behaviors their neuronal controls have been unraveled. In an attempt to address question functional significance organization using comparative approach, we studied activity/rest wild-caught D. (DM) close relative, ananassae (DA). We compared features such ability...

Summary We showed recently that Drosophila ananassae (DA), a closely related and sympatric species of the commonly studied fruitfly D. melanogaster (DM), shows distinctly deviant pattern in circadian activity/rest rhythm from latter, under variety laboratory conditions. To examine whether such differences extend to more natural conditions where time cues similar environmental pressures might force different adopt temporal patterns we examined these two semi-natural over span 1.5-yrs....

Abstract The oviposition rhythm of individual flies Drosophila melanogaster from a population maintained in an aperiodic environment (with light, temperature, humidity, and other factors which could provide time cues, kept constant) for several hundred generations was assayed constant light (LL), light/dark (LD 12:12 hr) cycle, darkness (DD). More than 50% the exhibited rhythmicity all three regimes. results indicate that phenomenon egg laying is rhythmic D. females controlled by endogenous...

Daily rhythms in Drosophila under semi-natural conditions (or SN) have received much recent attention. One of the striking differences behaviour wild type flies SN is presence an additional peak activity middle day. This referred to as afternoon (A-peak) and absent standard laboratory regimes using gated light temperature cues. Although previous reports identified physical factors that contribute towards A-peak there no evidence for underlying molecular mechanisms or pathways control A-peak....

Most animals sleep or exhibit a sleep-like state, yet the adaptive significance of this phenomenon remains unclear. Although reproductive deficits are associated with lifestyle induced deficiencies, how loss affects physiology is poorly understood, even in model organisms. We aimed to bridge mechanistic gap by impairing female fruit flies and testing its effect on egg output. find that deprivation feeding caffeine mechanical perturbation results decreased Transient activation wake-promoting...