Summary
This thesis characterizes how multiple photoreceptor classes (responsive to 390–650 nm) antagonistically regulate circadian entrainment in the jewel wasp Nasonia vitripennis, with a light input pathway more similar to mammals than to Drosophila. The findings on spectral antagonism between photoreceptors and downstream signaling (glutamate/GABA, CREB/CRE, AP-1) may inform understanding of how broad-spectrum light exposure resets circadian clocks in complex biological systems.
Key Findings
- A wide spectral range (390–650 nm, near UV to red) can entrain Nasonia's circadian rhythm.
- At least three of four visual photoreceptor classes contribute to circadian photoentrainment, with different photoreceptors antagonizing rather than reinforcing each other.
- The circadian light input pathway in Nasonia resembles the mammalian pathway more than the Drosophila pathway.
- Light signals are hypothesized to be conveyed via glutamate and GABA neurotransmitters and CREB/CRE and AP-1 signaling pathways, resetting the clock through induction of core clock genes cry2 and npas2.
Categories
The Science of Light: Investigates photoreceptor biology and spectral sensitivity underlying circadian entrainment, identifying antagonistic interactions among photoreceptor classes and downstream signaling pathways relevant to light input mechanisms.
Sleep & Circadian Health: Examines molecular and neurological mechanisms of circadian photoentrainment, including clock gene induction and neurotransmitter pathways, relevant to understanding entrainment across species.
Author(s)
Y Wang
Publication Year
2023
Related Publications
The Science of Light
- Phototransduction by retinal ganglion cells that set the circadian clock
- Color appearance models
- The mammalian circadian timing system: organization and coordination of central and peripheral clocks
- Diminished pupillary light reflex at high irradiances in melanopsin-knockout mice
- Melanopsin is required for non-image-forming photic responses in blind mice
Sleep & Circadian Health
- Phototransduction by retinal ganglion cells that set the circadian clock
- The mammalian circadian timing system: organization and coordination of central and peripheral clocks
- The two‐process model of sleep regulation: a reappraisal
- Melanopsin is required for non-image-forming photic responses in blind mice
- Strange vision: ganglion cells as circadian photoreceptors