Non-cell-autonomous circadian regulation of brain function in Drosophila

In the fly brain, the mushroom body (MB) regulates numerous behaviors that display circadian rhythms, although no MB neurons contain molecular clocks. Therefore, it is thought that clock-cells should input the time-of-day information to the mushroom body, and modulate their functions and output in a circadian fashion. However, the molecular, genetic, and anatomical connections between clock neurons and MB are not fully known yet. A large number of genes expressed rhythmically in the mushroom body neurons have been

recently identified in the laboratory. Neurofibromin1 (Nf1) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit 1 (Pka-c1) belong to this group and, in addition, it has been observed that they play a role in the regulation of sleep in Drosophila melanogaster. Therefore, my project will investigate the circuitry, signaling mechanism, and molecular underpinning of the rhythmic Nf1 and Pka-c1 gene expression in the mushroom body, and their roles in sleep regulation