Drosophila CRY Is a Deep Brain Circadian Photoreceptor
2000; Cell Press; Volume: 26; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s0896-6273(00)81181-2
ISSN1097-4199
AutoresPatrick Emery, Ralf Stanewsky, Charlotte Helfrich‐Förster, Myai Emery-Le, Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash,
Tópico(s)Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
Resumocry (cryptochrome) is an important clock gene, and recent data indicate that it encodes a critical circadian photoreceptor in Drosophila. A mutant allele, cryb, inhibits circadian photoresponses. Restricting CRY expression to specific fly tissues shows that CRY expression is needed in a cell-autonomous fashion for oscillators present in different locations. CRY overexpression in brain pacemaker cells increases behavioral photosensitivity, and this restricted CRY expression also rescues all circadian defects of cryb behavior. As wild-type pacemaker neurons express CRY, the results indicate that they make a striking contribution to all aspects of behavioral circadian rhythms and are directly light responsive. These brain neurons therefore contain an identified deep brain photoreceptor, as well as the other circadian elements: a central pacemaker and a behavioral output system.
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