title: Pan-neuronal knockdown of calcineurin reduces sleep in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: Sleep is a unique physiological state, which is behaviorally defined, and is broadly conserved across species from mammals to invertebrates such as insects. Because of the experimental accessibility provided by various novel animal models including the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, there have been significant advances in the understanding of sleep. Although the physiological functions of sleep have not been fully elucidated, accumulating evidence indicates that sleep is necessary to maintain the plasticity of neuronal circuits and, hence, is essential in learning and memory. Calcineurin (Cn) is a heterodimeric phosphatase composed of CnA and CnB subunits and known to function in memory consolidation in the mammalian brain, but its neurological functions in the fruit fly are largely unknown. Here, we show that Cn is an important regulator of sleep in Drosophila. A pan-neuronal RNA interference-mediated knockdown of Cn expression resulted in sleep loss, whereas misexpression of the constitutively active form of a CnA protein led to increased sleep. Furthermore, CnA knockdown also impaired the retention of aversive olfactory memory. These results indicate a role for Cn and calcium-dependent signal transduction in sleep and memory regulation and may bring insight into the relationship between them.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-0811, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.forename: Madoka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitsuyoshi
authors.forename: Taro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aso
authors.forename: Hiromu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanimoto
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakai
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aigaki
authors.forename: Shoen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kume
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kume
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D019703:Calcineurin / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques / Q000379:methods; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009043:Motor Activity; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D034622:RNA Interference / Q000502:physiology; D012890:Sleep / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D021122:Protein Subunits; D019703:Calcineurin