Regulation of copulation duration by period and timeless in Drosophila melanogaster
Regulation of copulation duration by period and timeless in Drosophila melanogaster
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2004.08.022
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发表时间：
2004-08-24
期刊：
影响因子：
9.2
通讯作者：
Giebultowicz, JM
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Beaver, LM;Giebultowicz, JM
生物钟涉及多个编码相互作用的转录调节因子的时钟基因 [1-4]。果蝇的时钟基因、周期 (per)、永恒 (tim)、时钟 (Clk) 和周期 (cyc) 的突变产生与生理、行为、发育和形态相关的多种表型 [5]。目前尚不清楚这些基因是否总是作为时钟组件发挥作用，或者也可能以某种未知的多效性方式发挥作用。我们在此报道，per 和 tim 涉及一种新颖的、男性特有的表型，该表型会影响几分钟左右的行为时间。缺乏 per 或 tim 功能的雄性交配时间明显长于具有正常 per 或 tim 功能的雄性，而雌性则没有表现出这种效果。未发现生育力与延长交配持续时间之间存在相关性。多项证据表明，系词时间 (TIC) 不受已知时钟机制的调节。首先，自由运行时钟振荡的周期似乎不会影响这种表型。其次，恒定光消除了时钟功能，但不会改变 TIC。最后，积极作用的时钟转录因子 Clk 和 cyc 的突变不会影响 TIC。我们的研究扩展了涉及 per 和 tim 基因的行为功能库，并揭示了这些基因可能发挥作用的另一个时间尺度。
The circadian clock involves several clock genes encoding interacting transcriptional regulators [1-4]. Mutations in clock genes in Drosophila melanogaster, period (per), timeless (tim), Clock (Clk), and cycle (cyc), produce multiple phenotypes associated with physiology, behavior, development, and morphology [5]. It is not clear whether these genes always work as clock components or may also act in some unknown plelotropic fashion. We report here that per and tim are involved in a novel, male-specific phenotype that affects behavioral timing on the order of minutes. Males lacking per or tim copulate significantly longer than males with normal per or tim function, while females do not show this effect. No correlation between fertility and extended copulation duration was found. Several lines of evidence suggest that the time in copula (TIC) is not regulated by the known clock mechanism. First, the period of free-running clock oscillations does not appear to affect this phenotype. Second, constant light, which abolishes the clock function, does not alter TIC. Finally, mutations in the positively acting clock transcription factors, Clk and cyc, do not affect TIC. Our study extends the repertoire of behavioral functions involving per and tim genes and uncovers another time scale over which these genes may act.