title: Chronic jet lag impairs startle-induced locomotion in Drosophila.
abstract: Endogenous circadian clocks with ~24-h periodicity are found in most organisms from cyanobacteria to humans. Daylight synchronizes these clocks to solar time. In humans, shift-work and jet lag perturb clock synchronization, and such perturbations, when repeated or chronic, are strongly suspected to be detrimental to healthspan. Here we investigated locomotor aging and longevity in Drosophila melanogaster with genetically or environmentally disrupted clocks. We compared two mutations in period (per, a gene essential for circadian rhythmicity in Drosophila), after introducing them in a common reference genetic background: the arrhythmic per01, and perTwhich displays robust short 16-h rhythms. Compared to the wild type, both per mutants showed reduced longevity and decreased startle-induced locomotion in aging flies, while spontaneous locomotor activity was not impaired. The per01phenotypes were generally less severe than those of perT, suggesting that chronic jet lag is more detrimental to aging than arrhythmicity in Drosophila. Interestingly, the adjustment of environmental light-dark cycles to the endogenous rhythms of the perTmutant fully suppressed the acceleration in the age-related decline of startle-induced locomotion, while it accelerated this decline in wild-type flies. Overall, our results show that chronic jet lag accelerates a specific form of locomotor aging in Drosophila, and that this effect can be alleviated by environmental changes that ameliorate circadian rhythm synchronization.
authors.affiliation: Genes Circuits Rhythms and Neuropathologies, Brain Plasticity Unit, CNRS, PSL Research University, ESPCI ParisTech, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France. Electronic address: alexandra.vaccaro@espci.fr.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vaccaro
authors.affiliation: Genes Circuits Rhythms and Neuropathologies, Brain Plasticity Unit, CNRS, PSL Research University, ESPCI ParisTech, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France. Electronic address: serge.birman@espci.fr.
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Birman
authors.affiliation: Genes Circuits Rhythms and Neuropathologies, Brain Plasticity Unit, CNRS, PSL Research University, ESPCI ParisTech, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France. Electronic address: andre.klarsfeld@espci.fr.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klarsfeld
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D020179:Jet Lag Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D008124:Locomotion / Q000235:genetics*; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation; D056950:Period Circadian Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D017440:Photoperiod
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C539040:PER protein, Drosophila; D056950:Period Circadian Proteins
keywords: Arrhythmia; Circadian clock; Environmental synchronization; Healthspan; Lifespan; Light-dark cycle; period gene