Central Clock Control of Drosophila Behavioral Rhythms
Abstract
The fruit fly brain contains ~150 central clock cells that keep time through a cell-autonomous molecular clock. Here, we used genetic techniques to electrically silence different clock cell populations and monitored the effect on feeding behavior and locomotor activity. We find that the severity of the effect of neuronal silencing varies according to the cell population targeted. Our results show that central clock cells regulate feeding and locomotor activity rhythms in parallel, suggesting that circadian control of these two distinct behavioral outputs diverges in downstream circadian output cells rather than in cells of the core clock network.
Central Clock Control of Drosophila Behavioral Rhythms
The fruit fly brain contains ~150 central clock cells that keep time through a cell-autonomous molecular clock. Here, we used genetic techniques to electrically silence different clock cell populations and monitored the effect on feeding behavior and locomotor activity. We find that the severity of the effect of neuronal silencing varies according to the cell population targeted. Our results show that central clock cells regulate feeding and locomotor activity rhythms in parallel, suggesting that circadian control of these two distinct behavioral outputs diverges in downstream circadian output cells rather than in cells of the core clock network.