Mitochondrial origins of the pressure to sleep.

ABSTRACT: To gain a comprehensive, unbiased perspective on molecular changes in the brain that may underlie the need for sleep, we have characterized the transcriptomes of single cells isolated from rested and sleep-deprived flies. Here we report that transcripts upregulated after sleep deprivation, in sleep-control neurons projecting to the dorsal fan-shaped body^1,2 (dFBNs) but not ubiquitously in the brain, encode almost exclusively proteins with roles in mitochondrial respiration and ATP synthesis. These gene expression changes are accompanied by mitochondrial fragmentation, enhanced mitophagy and an increase in the number of contacts between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum, creating conduits^3,4 for the replenishment of peroxidized lipids⁵. The morpholo

SUBMITTER: Sarnataro R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12443607 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature