The transcription factor Mef2 links the Drosophila core clock to Fas2, neuronal morphology, and circadian behavior.

ABSTRACT: The transcription factor Mef2 regulates activity-dependent neuronal plasticity and morphology in mammals, and clock neurons are reported to experience activity-dependent circadian remodeling in Drosophila. We show here that Mef2 is required for this daily fasciculation-defasciculation cycle. Moreover, the master circadian transcription complex CLK/CYC directly regulates Mef2 transcription. ChIP-Chip analysis identified numerous Mef2 target genes implicated in neuronal plasticity, including the cell-adhesion gene Fas2. Genetic epistasis experiments support this transcriptional regulatory hierarchy, CLK/CYC- > Mef2- > Fas2, indicate that it influences the circadian fasciculation cycle within pacemaker neurons, and suggest that this cycle also contributes to circadian behavior. Mef2 therefore

SUBMITTER: Sivachenko A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3859024 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature