TfAP-2 is required for night sleep in Drosophila.
The AP-2 transcription factor APTF-1 is crucially required for developmentally controlled sleep behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans larvae. Its human ortholog, TFAP-2beta, causes Char disease and has also been linked to sleep disorders. These data suggest that AP-2 transcription factors may be highly conserved regulators of various types of sleep behavior. Here, we tested the idea that AP-2 controls adult sleep in Drosophila.



Drosophila has one AP-2 ortholog called TfAP-2, which is essential for viability. To investigate its potential role in sleep behavior and neural development, we specifically downregulated TfAP-2 in the nervous system. We found that neuronal TfAP-2 knockdown almost completely abolished night sleep but did not affect day sleep. TfAP-2 insufficiency affected nervous system development. Conditional TfAP-2 knockdown in the adult also produced a modest sleep phenotype, suggesting that TfAP-2 acts both in larval as well as in differentiated neurons.



Thus, our results show that AP-2 transcription factors are highly conserved regulators of development and sleep.
Max Planck Research Group Gene Expression and Signaling, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Mariya M
MM
Kucherenko
Department of Genes and Behavior, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany.
Vinodh
V
Ilangovan
Max Planck Research Group Sleep and Waking, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
Bettina
B
Herzig
Max Planck Research Group Gene Expression and Signaling, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany. Halyna.Shcherbata@mpibpc.mpg.de.
Halyna R
HR
Shcherbata
Max Planck Research Group Sleep and Waking, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany. Henrik.Bringmann@mpibpc.mpg.de.
Henrik
H
Bringmann
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D017440:Photoperiod; D010802:Phylogeny; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D050656:Transcription Factor AP-2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014741:Video Recording
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D050656:Transcription Factor AP-2
AP-2; C. elegans; Char syndrome; Drosophila; Insomnia