Dyschronic, a Drosophila homolog of a deaf-blindness gene, regulates circadian output and Slowpoke channels.

ABSTRACT: Many aspects of behavior and physiology are under circadian control. In Drosophila, the molecular clock that regulates rhythmic patterns of behavior has been extensively characterized. In contrast, genetic loci involved in linking the clock to alterations in motor activity have remained elusive. In a forward-genetic screen, we uncovered a new component of the circadian output pathway, which we have termed dyschronic (dysc). dysc mutants exhibit arrhythmic locomotor behavior, yet their eclosion rhythms are normal and clock protein cycling remains intact. Intriguingly, dysc is the closest Drosophila homolog of whirlin, a gene linked to type II Usher syndrome, the leading cause of deaf-blindness in humans. Whirlin and other Usher proteins are expressed in the mammalian central nervous system,

SUBMITTER: Jepson JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3330124 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature