Temperature Entrainment of the Circadian Cuticle Deposition Rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster

Jan 22, 2011Journal of biological rhythms

Body surface layering rhythm in fruit flies adjusts to temperature changes

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Abstract

The cuticle deposition rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster was entrained to temperature cycles with a period of 28 h.

The rhythm was influenced by temperature cycles at 21 and 24 h in some individuals.
CRYPTOCHROME (CRY) is not essential for the temperature entrainment of the cuticle deposition rhythm.
Temperature entrainment occurs independently of the brain's central clock, as shown by in vitro cultures of thoraxes.
Light-dark cycles act as a stronger cue than temperature cycles for entraining the cuticle deposition rhythm.
When light and temperature cycles were aligned, the variance in the number of cuticle layers decreased.

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The cuticle deposition rhythm, which is observed in the apodeme of the furca in the thorax, is controlled by a peripheral circadian clock in the epidermal cells and entrained to light-dark (LD) cycles via CRYPTOCHROME (CRY) in Drosophila melanogaster. In the present study, we examined the effects of temperature (TC) cycles and the combination of LD and TC cycles on entrainment of the cuticle deposition rhythm. The rhythm was entrained to TC cycles, whose period was 28 h. In T = 21 and 24 h, the rhythm was entrained to TC cycles in some individuals. CRY is not necessary for temperature entrainment of the cuticle deposition rhythm because the rhythm in cry(b) (lacking functional CRY) was entrained to TC cycles. Temperature entrainment of the rhythm was achieved even when the thoraxes or furcae were cultured in vitro, suggesting that the mechanism for temperature entrainment is independent of the central clock in the brain and the site of the thermoreception resides in the epidermal cells. When LD and TC cycles with different periods were applied, the rhythm was entrained to LD cycles with a slight influence of TC cycles. Thus, the LD cycle is a stronger zeitgeber than the TC cycle. The variance of the number of the cuticle layers decreased in the flies kept under LD and TC cycles with the same period in which the thermophase coincided with the photophase. Therefore, we conclude that LD and TC cycles synergistically entrain the rhythm. Synergistic effects of LD and TC cycles on entrainment were also observed even when the thoraxes were cultured in vitro, suggesting that the light and temperature information is integrated within the peripheral circadian system.

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Temperature Entrainment of the Circadian Cuticle Deposition Rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster

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