Daily rhythms of PERIOD protein in the eyestalk of the American lobster, Homarus americanus

作者：Grabek Katharine R; Chabot Christopher C^*

来源：Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology, 2012, 45(4): 269-279.

DOI：10.1080/10236244.2012.730209

• lobster
• Homarus americanus
• biological clock
• circadian
• PERIOD protein
• PER
• daily
• rhythms
• eyestalk

The daily rhythm of PERIOD (PER) protein expression is an integral component of the circadian clock, which is found among a broad range of animal species including fruit flies, marine mollusks, and even humans. The use of antibodies directed against PER has provided a helpful tool in the discovery of PER homologs and the labeling of putative pacemaker cells, especially in animals for which an annotated genome is not readily available. In this study, Drosophila-PER antibodies were used to probe for PER in the American lobster, Homarus americanus. This species exhibits robust endogenous circadian rhythms but the circadian clock has yet to be located or characterized. PER was detected in the eyestalks of the lobster but not in the brain. Furthermore, a significant effect of the light/dark cycle on daily PER abundance was identified, and PER was significantly more abundant at mid-dark than in early light or mid-light hours. Our results suggest that PER is a part of the molecular machinery of the circadian clock located in the eyestalk of the lobster.

• 出版日期2012