Social synchronization of circadian locomotor activity rhythm in the fruit fly <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>

Lone, Shahnaz Rahman; Sharma, Vijay Kumar

doi:10.1242/jeb.057554

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(45 reference statements)

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“…Our study shows that olfaction plays a vital role in SSI, which is consistent with the findings of previous studies which have also implicated the role of olfaction in mediating social signals during social interactions particularly those that are sexual in nature [11]–[15], [28]. However, we do not know yet whether reduction of the evening activity peak in SSI males is merely a residual effect of SSI, or whether it has an adaptive significance for males to be less active during peak mating time.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…These studies suggest that fruit flies can convey temporal information by socially interacting with each other. However, social cycles were unable to entrain the circadian clocks of D. melanogaster , although they had significant impact on the phase of circadian locomotor activity rhythm [14], [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster , lesser known for its social organization, social cues have been reported to influence circadian clocks [11]–[15]. In an elegant study Levine et al [11] showed that flies maintained in groups show greater phase synchrony compared to those maintained solitarily.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Circadian Consequence of Socio-Sexual Interactions in Fruit Flies Drosophila melanogaster

Lone

Sharma

2011

PLoS ONE

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In fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster, courtship is an elaborate ritual comprising chasing, dancing and singing by males to lure females for mating. Courtship interactions peak in the night and heterosexual couples display enhanced nighttime activity. What we do not know is if such socio-sexual interactions (SSI) leave long-lasting after-effects on circadian clock(s). Here we report the results of our study aimed at examining the after-effects of SSI (as a result of co-habitation of males and females in groups) between males and females on their circadian locomotor activity rhythm. Males undergo reduction in the evening activity peak and lengthening of circadian period, while females show a decrease in overall activity. Such after-effects, at least in males, require functional circadian clocks during SSI as loss-of-function clock mutants and wild type flies interacting under continuous light (LL), do not display them. Interestingly, males with electrically silenced Pigment Dispersing Factor (PDF)-positive ventral lateral (LNv) clock neurons continue to show SSI mediated reduction in evening activity peak, suggesting that the LNv clock neurons are dispensable for SSI mediated after-effects on locomotor activity rhythm. Such after-effects in females may not be clock-dependent because clock manipulated females with prior exposure to males show decrease in overall activity, more or less similar to rhythmic wild type females. The expression of SSI mediated after-effects requires a functional olfactory system in males because males with compromised olfactory ability do not display them. These results suggest that SSI causes male-specific, long-lasting changes in the circadian clocks of Drosophila, which requires the presence of functional clocks and intact olfactory ability in males.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Circadian Consequence of Socio-Sexual Interactions in Fruit Flies Drosophila melanogaster

Lone

Sharma

2011

PLoS ONE

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“…The same conclusion was also reached by Fujii and co-workers [16], although they only examined the behaviors of WT flies after couples were separated. In grouped male flies, individual activity rhythms have a synchronized phase [5,40]. Importantly, the effect of the phase synchronization decreases with group size.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Interactions Influence the Molecular Oscillations in DN1 Pacemaker Neurons in Drosophila melanogaster

et al. 2013

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Circadian rhythms can synchronize to environmental time cues, such as light, temperature, humidity, and food availability. Previous studies have suggested that these rhythms can also be entrained by social interactions. Here, we used Drosophila melanogaster as a model to study the influence of socio-sexual interactions on the circadian clock in behavior and pacemaker neurons. If two flies of opposite sex were paired and kept in a small space, the daily activity patterns of the two flies were clearly different from the sum of the activity of single male and female flies. Compared with single flies, paired flies were more active in the night and morning, were more active during females’ active phase, and were less active during males’ active phase. These behavioral phenotypes are related to courtship behavior, but not to the circadian clock. Nevertheless, in male-female pairs of flies with clocks at different speeds (wild-type and per S flies), clock protein cycling in the DN1 pacemaker neurons in the male brain were slightly influenced by their partners. These results suggest that sexual interactions between male-female couples can serve as a weak zeitgeber for the DN1 pacemaker neurons, but the effect is not sufficient to alter rhythms of behavioral activity.

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“…The authors concluded that cell-cell communication could act on the repression of Bmal1 transcription to stabilize circadian cycling. As in the case of fruitflies of mixed genetic backgrounds [12,16], and honeybees in a colony [29], the rhythmic phenotype of an individual can be altered by interaction with other oscillating individuals.…”

Section: Suprachiasmatic Nucleus and The Synchrony Of Cellular Circadmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socially synchronized circadian oscillators

et al. 2013

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Daily rhythms of physiology and behaviour are governed by an endogenous timekeeping mechanism (a circadian 'clock'). The alternation of environmental light and darkness synchronizes (entrains) these rhythms to the natural day-night cycle, and underlying mechanisms have been investigated using singly housed animals in the laboratory. But, most species ordinarily would not live out their lives in such seclusion; in their natural habitats, they interact with other individuals, and some live in colonies with highly developed social structures requiring temporal synchronization. Social cues may thus be critical to the adaptive function of the circadian system, but elucidating their role and the responsible mechanisms has proven elusive. Here, we highlight three model systems that are now being applied to understanding the biology of socially synchronized circadian oscillators: the fruitfly, with its powerful array of molecular genetic tools; the honeybee, with its complex natural society and clear division of labour; and, at a different level of biological organization, the rodent suprachiasmatic nucleus, site of the brain's circadian clock, with its network of mutually coupled single-cell oscillators. Analyses at the 'group' level of circadian organization will likely generate a more complex, but ultimately more comprehensive, view of clocks and rhythms and their contribution to fitness in nature.

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Social synchronization of circadian locomotor activity rhythm in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract: SUMMARYSupplementary material available online at

Cited by 20 publications

References 23 publications

Circadian Consequence of Socio-Sexual Interactions in Fruit Flies Drosophila melanogaster

Circadian Consequence of Socio-Sexual Interactions in Fruit Flies Drosophila melanogaster

Sexual Interactions Influence the Molecular Oscillations in DN1 Pacemaker Neurons in Drosophila melanogaster

Socially synchronized circadian oscillators

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