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Pineal Photoreceptor Cells Are Required for Maintaining the Circadian Rhythms of Behavioral Visual Sensitivity in Zebrafish

In non-mammalian vertebrates, the pineal gland functions as the central pacemaker that regulates the circadian rhythms of animal behavior and physiology. We generated a transgenic zebrafish line [Tg(Gnat2:gal4-VP16/UAS:nfsB-mCherry)] in which the E. coli nitroreductase is expressed in pineal photore...

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Autores principales: Li, Xinle, Montgomery, Jake, Cheng, Wesley, Noh, Jung Hyun, Hyde, David R., Li, Lei
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3398033/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22815753
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0040508
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author Li, Xinle
Montgomery, Jake
Cheng, Wesley
Noh, Jung Hyun
Hyde, David R.
Li, Lei
author_facet Li, Xinle
Montgomery, Jake
Cheng, Wesley
Noh, Jung Hyun
Hyde, David R.
Li, Lei
author_sort Li, Xinle
collection PubMed
description In non-mammalian vertebrates, the pineal gland functions as the central pacemaker that regulates the circadian rhythms of animal behavior and physiology. We generated a transgenic zebrafish line [Tg(Gnat2:gal4-VP16/UAS:nfsB-mCherry)] in which the E. coli nitroreductase is expressed in pineal photoreceptor cells. In developing embryos and young adults, the transgene is expressed in both retinal and pineal photoreceptor cells. During aging, the expression of the transgene in retinal photoreceptor cells gradually diminishes. By 8 months of age, the Gnat2 promoter-driven nitroreductase is no longer expressed in retinal photoreceptor cells, but its expression in pineal photoreceptor cells persists. This provides a tool for selective ablation of pineal photoreceptor cells, i.e., by treatments with metronidazole. In the absence of pineal photoreceptor cells, the behavioral visual sensitivity of the fish remains unchanged; however, the circadian rhythms of rod and cone sensitivity are diminished. Brief light exposures restore the circadian rhythms of behavioral visual sensitivity. Together, the data suggest that retinal photoreceptor cells respond to environmental cues and are capable of entraining the circadian rhythms of visual sensitivity; however, they are insufficient for maintaining the rhythms. Cellular signals from the pineal photoreceptor cells may be required for maintaining the circadian rhythms of visual sensitivity.
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spelling pubmed-33980332012-07-19 Pineal Photoreceptor Cells Are Required for Maintaining the Circadian Rhythms of Behavioral Visual Sensitivity in Zebrafish Li, Xinle Montgomery, Jake Cheng, Wesley Noh, Jung Hyun Hyde, David R. Li, Lei PLoS One Research Article In non-mammalian vertebrates, the pineal gland functions as the central pacemaker that regulates the circadian rhythms of animal behavior and physiology. We generated a transgenic zebrafish line [Tg(Gnat2:gal4-VP16/UAS:nfsB-mCherry)] in which the E. coli nitroreductase is expressed in pineal photoreceptor cells. In developing embryos and young adults, the transgene is expressed in both retinal and pineal photoreceptor cells. During aging, the expression of the transgene in retinal photoreceptor cells gradually diminishes. By 8 months of age, the Gnat2 promoter-driven nitroreductase is no longer expressed in retinal photoreceptor cells, but its expression in pineal photoreceptor cells persists. This provides a tool for selective ablation of pineal photoreceptor cells, i.e., by treatments with metronidazole. In the absence of pineal photoreceptor cells, the behavioral visual sensitivity of the fish remains unchanged; however, the circadian rhythms of rod and cone sensitivity are diminished. Brief light exposures restore the circadian rhythms of behavioral visual sensitivity. Together, the data suggest that retinal photoreceptor cells respond to environmental cues and are capable of entraining the circadian rhythms of visual sensitivity; however, they are insufficient for maintaining the rhythms. Cellular signals from the pineal photoreceptor cells may be required for maintaining the circadian rhythms of visual sensitivity. Public Library of Science 2012-07-16 /pmc/articles/PMC3398033/ /pubmed/22815753 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0040508 Text en Li et al. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Li, Xinle
Montgomery, Jake
Cheng, Wesley
Noh, Jung Hyun
Hyde, David R.
Li, Lei
Pineal Photoreceptor Cells Are Required for Maintaining the Circadian Rhythms of Behavioral Visual Sensitivity in Zebrafish
title Pineal Photoreceptor Cells Are Required for Maintaining the Circadian Rhythms of Behavioral Visual Sensitivity in Zebrafish
title_full Pineal Photoreceptor Cells Are Required for Maintaining the Circadian Rhythms of Behavioral Visual Sensitivity in Zebrafish
title_fullStr Pineal Photoreceptor Cells Are Required for Maintaining the Circadian Rhythms of Behavioral Visual Sensitivity in Zebrafish
title_full_unstemmed Pineal Photoreceptor Cells Are Required for Maintaining the Circadian Rhythms of Behavioral Visual Sensitivity in Zebrafish
title_short Pineal Photoreceptor Cells Are Required for Maintaining the Circadian Rhythms of Behavioral Visual Sensitivity in Zebrafish
title_sort pineal photoreceptor cells are required for maintaining the circadian rhythms of behavioral visual sensitivity in zebrafish
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3398033/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22815753
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0040508
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