RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 <em>Drosophila</em> Neuroligin 4 Regulates Sleep through Modulating GABA Transmission
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 15545
OP 15554
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0819-13.2013
VO 33
IS 39
A1 Yi Li
A1 Zikai Zhou
A1 Xinwang Zhang
A1 Huawei Tong
A1 Peipei Li
A1 Zi Chao Zhang
A1 Zhengping Jia
A1 Wei Xie
A1 Junhai Han
YR 2013
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/39/15545.abstract
AB Sleep is an essential and evolutionarily conserved behavior that is closely related to synaptic function. However, whether neuroligins (Nlgs), which are cell adhesion molecules involved in synapse formation and synaptic transmission, are involved in sleep is not clear. Here, we show that Drosophila Nlg4 (DNlg4) is highly expressed in large ventral lateral clock neurons (l-LNvs) and that l-LNv-derived DNlg4 is essential for sleep regulation. GABA transmission is impaired in mutant l-LNv, and sleep defects in dnlg4 mutant flies can be rescued by genetic manipulation of GABA transmission. Furthermore, dnlg4 mutant flies exhibit a severe reduction in GABAA receptor RDL clustering, and DNlg4 associates with RDLs in vivo. These results demonstrate that DNlg4 regulates sleep through modulating GABA transmission in l-LNvs, which provides the first known link between a synaptic adhesion molecule and sleep in Drosophila.