title: Non-ventral lateral neuron-based, non-PDF-mediated clocks control circadian egg-laying rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: The authors report the results of their study aimed at investigating the consequence of targeted ablation of ventral lateral neurons (LN(v)s--neurons regulating eclosion and locomotor activity rhythms) and genetic disruption of pigment-dispersing factor (PDF--an important output of circadian clocks) on the egg-laying rhythm of Drosophila melanogaster. The results clearly suggest that genetic ablation of LN(v)s and loss of function mutation of PDF abolish eclosion and locomotor activity rhythms, whereas the egg-laying rhythm continues unabated. Furthermore, the results also demonstrate that the period of egg-laying rhythm remains unchanged under different ambient temperatures and nutrition levels, suggesting that the egg-laying rhythm of D. melanogaster is temperature and nutrition compensated. Based on these results, the authors conclude that the egg-laying rhythm in D. melanogaster is regulated by non-LN(v)-based, non-PDF-mediated circadian clocks.
authors.affiliation: Chronobiology Laboratory, Evolutionary and Organismal Biology Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Gitanjali
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Howlader
authors.forename: Dhanashree A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Paranjpe
authors.forename: Vijay Kumar
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010058:Oviposition / Q000502:physiology*; D013696:Temperature