Genetically Blocking the Zebrafish Pineal Clock Affects Circadian Behavior.

ABSTRACT: The master circadian clock in fish has been considered to reside in the pineal gland. This dogma is challenged, however, by the finding that most zebrafish tissues contain molecular clocks that are directly reset by light. To further examine the role of the pineal gland oscillator in the zebrafish circadian system, we generated a transgenic line in which the molecular clock is selectively blocked in the melatonin-producing cells of the pineal gland by a dominant-negative strategy. As a result, clock-controlled rhythms of melatonin production in the adult pineal gland were disrupted. Moreover, transcriptome analysis revealed that the circadian expression pattern of the majority of clock-controlled genes in the adult pineal gland is abolished. Importantly, circadian rhythms of behavior in ze

SUBMITTER: Ben-Moshe Livne Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5147766 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature