IIBBA   05544
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES BIOQUIMICAS DE BUENOS AIRES
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
A cholinergic input determines the firing mode of a subset of clock neurons of Drosophila melanogaster
Autor/es:
MURARO NI; CERIANI MF
Lugar:
Huerta Grande
Reunión:
Congreso; XXVII Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencia; 2012
Institución organizadora:
Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias
Resumen:
The
rotation of our planet generates cyclic environmental conditions to which
organisms have adapted by developing an endogenous clock. This allows them to anticipate
the daily changes in light and temperature to adjust their physiology and behaviors
accordingly. These circadian rhythms have been extensively studied in the fruit
fly where many clock genes that interlock through negative feedback loops and
generate daily oscillations have been described. Clock genes are expressed in
approximately 150 clock neurons in the brain, of which a particular subset, the
pigment dispersing factor-expressing lateral neurons (LNvs) have been found to
play a central role.
Acetylcholine (ACh) has been previously described to
act as an excitatory neurotransmitter on large-LNvs, however, no specific role
has been suggested. Here we propose a role for ACh on determining the firing
mode of large-LNvs because the addition of curare produces a shift from
bursting, the more prevalent daytime firing mode, to tonic, which is normally
found at nighttime. Additionally, the finding of TTX-resistant slow rhythmic
depolarisations of alternating size led us to hypothesize that the large-LNvs
could be not only pacemaker cells in the circadian sense but could also present
endogenous rhythmic activity similar to cardiac pacemakers.