The Journal of Neuroscience, February 1, 2000, 20(3):958-968
Altered Entrainment and Feedback Loop Function Effected by a
Mutant Period Protein
Peter
Schotland,
Melissa
Hunter-Ensor,
Todd
Lawrence, and
Amita
Sehgal
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Neuroscience,
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19104
The period (per) and timeless (tim)
genes encode interacting components of the circadian clock. Levels and
phosphorylation states of both proteins cycle with a circadian rhythm,
and the proteins drive cyclic expression of their RNAs through a
feedback mechanism that is, at least in part, negative. We report here that a hypophosphorylated mutant PER protein, produced by creating a
small internal deletion, displays increased stability and low-amplitude oscillations, consistent with previous reports that phosphorylation is
required for protein turnover. In addition, this protein appears to be
defective in feedback repression because it is associated with
relatively high levels of RNA and high levels of TIM. Transgenic flies
carrying the mutant PER protein display a temperature-dependent shortening of circadian period and are impaired in their response to
light, particularly to pulses of light in the late night that normally
advance the phase of the rhythm. Interestingly, per RNA is induced by light in these flies, most likely because of the removal of the light-sensitive TIM protein, thus implicating a more
direct role for TIM in transcriptional inhibition. These data have
relevance for mechanisms of feedback repression, and they also address
existing models for the differential behavioral response to light at
different times of the night.
Key words:
circadian rhythms; Drosophila; per; tim; entrainment to light; feedback
Copyright © 2000 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/00/203958-11$05.00/0