The Drosophila circadian phase response curve to light: Conservation across seasonally relevant photoperiods and anchorage to sunset

A circadian clock regulates the blood-brain barrier across phylogeny

As the central regulatory system of an organism, the brain is responsible for overseeing a wide variety of physiological processes essential for an organism's survival. To maintain the environment necessary for neurons to function, the brain requires highly selective uptake and elimination of specific molecules through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). As an organism's activities vary throughout the day, how does the BBB adapt to meet the changing needs of the brain? A mechanism is through temporal regulation of BBB permeability via its circadian clock, which will be the focal point of this chapter. To comprehend the circadian clock's role within the BBB, we will first examine the anatomy of the BBB and the transport mechanisms enabling it to fulfill its role as a restrictive barrier. Next, we will define the circadian clock, and the discussion will encompass an introduction to circadian rhythms, the Transcription-Translation Feedback Loop (TTFL) as the mechanistic basis of circadian timekeeping, and the organization of tissue clocks found in organisms. Then, we will cover the role of the circadian rhythms in regulating the cellular mechanisms and functions of the BBB. We discuss the implications of this regulation in influencing sleep behavior, the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, and finally drug delivery for treatment of neurological diseases.

Parametric effects of light acting via multiple photoreceptors contribute to circadian entrainment in Drosophila melanogaster

Circadian rhythms in physiology and behaviour have near 24 h periodicities that must adjust to the exact 24 h geophysical cycles on earth to ensure adaptive daily timing. Such adjustment is called entrainment. One major mode of entrainment is via the continuous modulation of circadian period by the prolonged presence of light. Although Drosophila melanogaster is a prominent insect model of chronobiology, there is little evidence for such continuous effects of light in the species. In this study, we demonstrate that prolonged light exposure at specific times of the day shapes the daily timing of activity in flies. We also establish that continuous UV- and blue-blocked light lengthens the circadian period of Drosophila and provide evidence that this is produced by the combined action of multiple photoreceptors which, includes the cell-autonomous photoreceptor cryptochrome. Finally, we introduce ramped light cycles as an entrainment paradigm that produces light entrainment that lacks the large light-driven startle responses typically displayed by flies and requires multiple days for entrainment to shifted cycles. These features are reminiscent of entrainment in mammalian models systems and make possible new experimental approaches to understanding the mechanisms underlying entrainment in the fly.

Animal behavior is central in shaping the realized diel light niche

Animal behavior in space and time is structured by the perceived day/night cycle. However, this is modified by the animals’ own movement within its habitat, creating a realized diel light niche (RDLN). To understand the RDLN, we investigated the light as experienced by zooplankton undergoing synchronized diel vertical migration (DVM) in an Arctic fjord around the spring equinox. We reveal a highly dampened light cycle with diel changes being about two orders of magnitude smaller compared to the surface or a static depth. The RDLN is further characterized by unique wavelength-specific irradiance cycles. We discuss the relevance of RDLNs for animal adaptations and interactions, as well as implications for circadian clock entrainment in the wild and laboratory.