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Summary: Perturbing Dynamin Reveals Potent Effects on the
Drosophila Circadian Clock
Valerie L. Kilman1,2
, Luoying Zhang1
, Rose-Anne Meissner1
, Elyssa Burg1¤
, Ravi Allada1,2
*
1 Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America, 2 Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology,
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
Abstract
Background: Transcriptional feedback loops are central to circadian clock function. However, the role of neural activity and
membrane events in molecular rhythms in the fruit fly Drosophila is unclear. To address this question, we expressed a
temperature-sensitive, dominant negative allele of the fly homolog of dynamin called shibirets1
(shits1
), an active component
in membrane vesicle scission.
Principal Findings: Broad expression in clock cells resulted in unexpectedly long, robust periods (.28 hours) comparable to
perturbation of core clock components, suggesting an unappreciated role of membrane dynamics in setting period.
Expression in the pacemaker lateral ventral neurons (LNv) was necessary and sufficient for this effect. Manipulation of other
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