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Insect circadian rhythms and photoperiodism

D S Saunders1

  • 1Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh. davids@srv0.bio.ed.ac.uk

Invertebrate Neuroscience : IN
|October 23, 1998
PubMed
Summary

The circadian clock in flies controls daily rhythms and seasonal responses. Key pacemaker cells in the central brain, not the eyes, regulate these behaviors, suggesting a conserved mechanism across species.

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Area of Science:

  • Chronobiology
  • Insect Physiology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Circadian rhythms and photoperiodism are crucial for insect survival.
  • Both phenomena are clock-controlled but involve distinct molecular and neuronal mechanisms.
  • The fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and blow fly (Calliphora vicina) serve as model organisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural basis of circadian rhythmicity and photoperiodic diapause induction in flies.
  • To identify the location of circadian clock mechanisms and extra-optic photoreception.
  • To compare the underlying mechanisms in Drosophila melanogaster and Calliphora vicina.

Main Methods:

  • Observation of circadian locomotor rhythms under varying light conditions.
  • Analysis of photoperiodic diapause induction.
  • Neuroanatomical studies, including immunohistochemistry for arrestin.
  • Behavioral experiments assessing the role of eyes and ocelli.

Main Results:

  • Circadian locomotor rhythms are endogenous, temperature-compensated oscillations entrained by light-dark cycles.
  • Constant light disrupts rhythms, indicating a multioscillator system.
  • Photoperiodic diapause induction relies on the circadian system but uses separate mechanisms.
  • Eyes and ocelli are not essential for photic entrainment; the central brain is implicated.
  • Lateral brain neurons in D. melanogaster are identified as pacemaker cells, potentially photosensitive.
  • Similar arrestin-staining neurons found in C. vicina's central brain.

Conclusions:

  • The central brain, specifically lateral neurons, houses the circadian clock and extra-optic photoreception in flies.
  • Separate molecular and neuronal substrates likely underlie circadian rhythmicity and photoperiodism.
  • The findings suggest a conserved neural architecture for clock-controlled behaviors in insects.

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