主题：Synchronization of the Drosophila circadian clock by the daily cycles of light and temperature

报告人：Prof. Ralf Stanewskey, University of Münster, Institute of Neuro- and Behavioural Biology

时间：2019年10月22日，13:00-14:30

地点：北京大学吕志和楼B101

摘要：

Circadian clocks orchestrate the timing of behavioural patterns and physiological processes with the natural daily fluctuations of light and temperature. They thereby contribute to the fitness of organisms, as exemplified by their importance for regulating predator avoidance and economical use of energy. Molecularly, circadian clocks consist of transcriptional and translational feedback loops of clock genes expressed throughout the body. In the brain of the fruit fly, a network of about 150 specialized ‘clock neurons’, defined by the expression of clock genes and organized in seven anatomically distinct clusters, regulate the daily rhythms of locomotor activity and sleep.

In our group we are interested in how daily light and temperature cycles synchronize clock gene expression within the brain clock neurons and the behavioural rhythms controlled by these neurons. I will present some recent findings about a several membrane proteins involved in behavioural and neuronal responses to light. In the second part, I will discuss recent findings about how temperature sensors, located in the peripheral nervous system, contribute to temperature resetting of clock neurons in the brain. Interestingly, the neuronal clusters targeted by light and temperature seem to be partially distinct, pointing to the mode by which the clock neuronal network may integrate light and temperature information to generate properly timed behavioural activity rhythms.

邀请人：罗冬根 研究员