Circadian systems. V. The driving oscillation and the temporal sequence of development.
A circadian oscillation (in the brain) of Drosophila spp. acts as a gating device restricting the emergence behavior of the adult to a limited fraction of each 24-hour cycle defined by that oscillator, but the oscillation does not gate intermediate steps of pupal development. Unlike the emergence act, such intermediate events in development occur at fixed times after prepupa formation and are totally independent of the phase of the ongoing oscillator that gates emergence behavior.
D000818:Animals; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004330:Drosophila / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors