Circadian Rhythms and Period Expression in the Hawaiian Cricket Genus Laupala

Abstract

Daily activity times and circadian rhythms of crickets have been a subject of behavioral and physiological study for decades. However, recent studies suggest that the underlying molecular mechanism of cricket endogenous clocks differ from the model of circadian rhythm generation in Drosophila. Here we examine the circadian free-running periods of walking and singing in two Hawaiian swordtail cricket species, Laupala cerasina and Laupala paranigra, that differ in the daily timing of mating related activities. Additionally, we examine variation in sequence and daily cycling of the period (per) gene transcript between these species. The species differed significantly in free-running period of singing, but did not differ significantly in the free-running period of locomotion. Like in Drosophila, per transcript abundance showed cycling consistent with a role in circadian rhythm generation. The amino acid differences identified between these species suggest a potential of the per gene in interspecific behavioral variation in Laupala.

Lifelong exposure to artificial light at night impacts stridulation and locomotion activity patterns in the cricketGryllus bimaculatus

“…(c) Perspectives for future research Some of our findings indicate major routes for future research into circadian rhythms and their underlying mechanisms in the cricket. For example, while the period of stridulation and locomotion has been shown to correlate in other species [32,35], no correlation of either the period or the phase was found in our present study. The differential effects of lifelong exposure to increasing ALAN intensities on the activity cycles and phases of these two behavioural patterns in a single individual may indicate the decoupling of possibly two peripheral clocks.…”

“…Crickets (Gryllidae) have been widely used as models for the study of insect physiology, neurobiology and behaviour, including circadian activity [29,30]. They are known to demonstrate clear diel cycles in two fundamental behaviours, stridulation and locomotion [31][32][33][34][35]. In several cricket species, including Gryllus bimaculatus, temporal shifts in the insect's locomotor or stridulatory circadian activity have been reported following exposure to changes in illumination patterns [31][32][33].…”

Genetic basis of allochronic differentiation in the fall armyworm

“…Allochronic speciation due to seasonal timing differences has been suggested for several insect species, e.g. crickets [ 31 , 32 ], fruit flies [ 33 , 34 ] and mosquitoes [ 13 ]. However, surprisingly little research has been conducted on the importance and exact genetic changes underlying temporal speciation (reviewed in AT Groot [ 1 ]).…”

Physical linkage and mate preference generate linkage disequilibrium for behavioral isolation in two parapatric crickets

“…Our results further highlight two clock genes, period (about 5 cM away from the pulse rate and female preference QTLs on LG 12) and timeless (directly under the QTL on LG 1 for carrier frequency and pulse rate; however, tim is not a population genetics outlier). These clock genes regulate circadian rhythms, including the timing of mating behavior in fruit flies and crickets (Sakai and Ishida ; Fergus and Shaw ). Additionally, clock genes, specifically period , have been implicated in regulating biological processes acting on shorter time scales, including interpulse intervals in vibrational signals in D. melanogaster (Medina et al.…”