Circadian Genes in Fruit Flies: What They Teach Us About Human Sleep and Health

Circadian rhythms are cycles developed internally that influence the behavioral and physiological changes that happen daily. They occur in organisms as diverse as humans and fruit flies. They are the product of “clock” genes that set the rhythm and tune them in response to changes in the ambient light. In the present study, we aimed to determine the contribution of functional clock genes to the circadian regulation of movement of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. An equal number of wild-type flies (n = 5) and clock-mutant flies (n = 5) were placed in an incubator for 1 week to allow them to establish their own internal circadian rhythms in constant darkness. Activity patterns are being recorded electronically by the Drosophila Activity Monitoring (DAM) (TriKinetics) system, In the case of wild-type flies, we expect to see clear activity peaks and troughs corresponding to a 24-hour cycle. In contrast, we expect clock-mutant flies to show little, or no activity, and a complete lack of all the activity peaks that wild-type flies are expected to show. Because of the similarity of clock genes in all organisms, the findings of this study will provide a basis for further research on circadian rhythm and sleep disorders in humans. The research will provide clues to the molecular pathways and the behavioral rhythms that clock genes in Drosophila activate, to enhance the understanding of the global and behavioral rhythms in circadian regulation.