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Noncircadian Regulation and Function of Clock Genes Period and Timeless in Oogenesis of Drosophila Melanogaster
- Source :
- Journal of Biological Rhythms. 18:463-472
- Publication Year :
- 2003
- Publisher :
- SAGE Publications, 2003.
-
Abstract
- Circadian clock genes are ubiquitously expressed in the nervous system and peripheral tissues of complex animals. While clock genes in the brain are essential for behavioral rhythms, the physiological roles of these genes in the periphery are not well understood. Constitutive expression of the clock gene period was reported in the ovaries of Drosophila melanogaster; however, its molecular interactions and functional significance remained unknown. This study demonstrates that period( per) and timeless( tim) are involved in a novel noncircadian function in the ovary. PER and TIM are constantly expressed in the follicle cells enveloping young oocytes. Genetic evidence suggests that PER and TIM interact in these cells, yet they do not translocate to the nucleus. The levels of TIM and PER in the ovary are affected neither by light nor by the lack of clock-positive elements Clock( Clk) and cycle( cyc). Taken together, these data suggest that per and tim are regulated differently in follicle cells than in clock cells. Experimental evidence suggests that a novel fitness-related phenotype may be linked to noncircadian expression of clock genes in the ovaries. Mated females lacking either per or tim show nearly a 50% decline in progeny, and virgin females show a similar decline in the production of mature oocytes. Disruption of circadian mechanism by either the depletion of TIM via constant light treatment or continuous expression of PER via GAL4/UAS expression system has no adverse effect on the production of mature oocytes.
- Subjects :
- Male
0301 basic medicine
Physiology
Timeless
Period (gene)
Circadian clock
Biology
03 medical and health sciences
Oogenesis
0302 clinical medicine
Biological Clocks
Physiology (medical)
Animals
Drosophila Proteins
Circadian rhythm
Oscillating gene
Genetics
Ovary
Nuclear Proteins
Period Circadian Proteins
biology.organism_classification
Circadian Rhythm
Cell biology
CLOCK
Drosophila melanogaster
Fertility
030104 developmental biology
Gene Expression Regulation
Mutation
Oocytes
Female
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15524531 and 07487304
- Volume :
- 18
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Biological Rhythms
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....a0d503e9b7872497312e79df35eb6bde
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0748730403259108