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Generation of Dispersed Presomitic Mesoderm Cell Cultures for Imaging of the Zebrafish Segmentation Clock in Single Cells

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Genetically Blocking the Zebrafish Pineal Clock Affects Circadian Behavior.

Zohar Ben-Moshe Livne¹, Shahar Alon^1,2, Daniela Vallone³

¹Department of Neurobiology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.

|November 22, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The zebrafish pineal gland

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Area of Science:

Chronobiology
Neuroendocrinology
Zebrafish models

Background:

The pineal gland was traditionally considered the master circadian clock in fish.
Recent findings suggest peripheral tissues in zebrafish possess molecular clocks directly influenced by light.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of the pineal gland's molecular clock in the zebrafish circadian system.
To determine if the pineal gland acts as a crucial pacemaker for behavioral rhythms.

Main Methods:

Generated a transgenic zebrafish line to selectively block the molecular clock in pineal gland melatonin-producing cells.
Disrupted pineal melatonin production rhythms and analyzed gene expression patterns.
Assessed circadian rhythms of behavior (place preference, locomotor activity) in larvae.

Main Results:

Disrupted clock-controlled melatonin production and abolished circadian gene expression in the adult pineal gland.
Eliminated rhythms of place preference and attenuated locomotor activity rhythms in larvae.
Global peripheral molecular oscillators in whole larvae remained unaffected.

Conclusions:

The molecular clock within the pineal gland's melatonin-producing cells is essential for modulating zebrafish behavioral rhythms.
The pineal gland likely functions as a key component within a multiple pacemaker system regulating circadian behavior.