Blocking Pdp1epsilon stops daily activity rhythms in fruit flies

Inhibition of PDP1epsilon activity in transgenic flies resulted in arrhythmic circadian behavior.

• PDP1epsilon is part of a transcriptional feedback loop in the Drosophila circadian clock system.
• The rhythmic expression of PDP1epsilon is regulated by the dClock gene.
• PDP1epsilon's basic leucine zipper domain can function as a dominant-negative mutant of the wild-type form.
• Reduced PDP1epsilon activity, through either a dominant-negative mutant or knock-down, led to changes in neural projections from specific neurons.
• Alterations in PDP1epsilon may influence the neural connections essential for maintaining circadian rhythms in adult locomotor activity.

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