Temperature cycles help synchronize the internal daily clock in fruit flies

Temperature cycles can serve as powerful time cues to synchronize the circadian clock in Drosophila.

• Temperature entrainment is less understood than light entrainment but has several well-documented effects on circadian clocks.
• Similarities and differences between temperature and light entrainment pathways are beginning to emerge.
• Mutants that disrupt temperature entrainment have been isolated, potentially aiding in the understanding of underlying mechanisms.
• The regulation of clock genes involves both transcriptional and posttranscriptional processes.
• A whole organism or systemic signal may be necessary for temperature synchronization of fly behavior, indicating a fundamental difference from light entrainment.

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