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GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN SLEEP AND METABOLIC FUNCTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH LATITUDE AND TEMPERATURE IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Title
GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN SLEEP AND METABOLIC FUNCTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH LATITUDE AND TEMPERATURE IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER.
Creator
Torres, Joshua, Keene, Alex C., Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description
Natural-occurring factors stemming from the environment can influence complex behaviors, such as feeding and sleeping. These factors act evolutionarily as selective pressures, shaping an organism’s behavior, for example suppressing sleep in order to forage for food. Under evolutionary influence, the regulation of sleep and metabolic homeostasis is crucial for an animal’s survival. Notable differences in sleep and metabolic phenotypes are seen across the animal kingdom, however how ecological...
Show moreNatural-occurring factors stemming from the environment can influence complex behaviors, such as feeding and sleeping. These factors act evolutionarily as selective pressures, shaping an organism’s behavior, for example suppressing sleep in order to forage for food. Under evolutionary influence, the regulation of sleep and metabolic homeostasis is crucial for an animal’s survival. Notable differences in sleep and metabolic phenotypes are seen across the animal kingdom, however how ecological factors maintain these phenotypes is poorly understood. Using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, this Honors Thesis will assess sleep, starvation, and metabolic traits in 24 populations gathered from various geographic localities. Previous studies using Drosophila have identified the novel genetic regulators of sleep, metabolism and evolutionary processes. Sleep dysregulation leads to the deterioration of normal functions within both the fruit fly and humans. My project investigates how this variation in behavior interacts with evolutionary environment and history.
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Date Issued
2018
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUHT00056
Format
Document (PDF)
Characterization of Social Sleep Behavior in Astyanax Mexicanus
Title
Characterization of Social Sleep Behavior in Astyanax Mexicanus.
Creator
Lopatto, Arthur, Keene, Alex C., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University
Abstract/Description
Sleep is a near universal behavior throughout the animal kingdom. In mammals, sleep is impacted by many different environmental traits including food availability, light-dark cycles, and social expeeence. Although, sleep behavior has been studied with individual fish, the effects of social interactions on sleep has not been studied in any fish species. Astyanax mexicanus offers a model to study sleep because it has multiple morphs derived from a common ancestor. We investigated sleep in...
Show moreSleep is a near universal behavior throughout the animal kingdom. In mammals, sleep is impacted by many different environmental traits including food availability, light-dark cycles, and social expeeence. Although, sleep behavior has been studied with individual fish, the effects of social interactions on sleep has not been studied in any fish species. Astyanax mexicanus offers a model to study sleep because it has multiple morphs derived from a common ancestor. We investigated sleep in Pachón cavefish and surface fish by comparing sleep in individual fish to those in social groups. We discovered that when Pachón cavefish are placed in a social group do not display differences in sleep relative to Pachón fish in isolation. In contrast, surface fish behaved significantly differently in social groups compared to non-social surface fish groups. This study is the first to demonstrate that sociality effects sleep and fish, and suggests this social regulation of sleep was lost in cavefish evolution.
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Date Issued
2019
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUHT00125
Format
Document (PDF)
Genetic and Neural Mechanisms Regulating the Interaction Between Sleep and Metabolism in Drosophila Melanogaster
Title
Genetic and Neural Mechanisms Regulating the Interaction Between Sleep and Metabolism in Drosophila Melanogaster.
Creator
Yurgel, Maria E., Keene, Alex C., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
Dysregulation of sleep and metabolism has enormous health consequences. Sleep loss is linked to increased appetite and insulin insensitivity, and epidemiological studies link chronic sleep deprivation to obesity-related disorders. Interactions between sleep and metabolism involve the integration of signalling from brain regions regulating sleep, feeding, and metabolism, as well as communication between the brain and peripheral organs. In this series of studies, using the fruit fly as a model...
Show moreDysregulation of sleep and metabolism has enormous health consequences. Sleep loss is linked to increased appetite and insulin insensitivity, and epidemiological studies link chronic sleep deprivation to obesity-related disorders. Interactions between sleep and metabolism involve the integration of signalling from brain regions regulating sleep, feeding, and metabolism, as well as communication between the brain and peripheral organs. In this series of studies, using the fruit fly as a model organism, we investigated how feeding information is processed to regulate sleep, and how peripheral tissues regulate sleep through the modulation of energy stores. In order to address these questions, we performed a large RNAi screen to identify novel genetic regulators of sleep and metabolism. We found that, the mRNA/DNA binding protein, Translin (trsn), is necessary for the acute modulation of sleep in accordance with feeding state. Flies mutant for trsn or selective knockdown of trsn in Leucokinin (Lk) neurons abolishes starvation-induced sleep suppression. In addition, genetic silencing of Lk neurons or a mutation in the Lk locus also disrupts the integration between sleep and metabolism, suggesting that Lk neurons are active during starvation. We confirmed this hypothesis by measuring baseline activity during fed and starved states. We found that LHLK neurons, which have axonal projections to sleep and metabolic centers of the brain, are more active during starvation. These findings suggest that LHLK neurons are modulated in accordance with feeding state to regulate sleep. Finally, to address how peripheral tissues regulate sleep, we performed an RNAi screen, selectively knocking down genes in the fat body. We found that knockdown of Phosphoribosylformylglycinamidine synthase (Ade2), a highly conserved gene involved the biosynthesis of purines, regulates sleep and energy stores. Flies heterozygous for two Ade2 mutations are short sleepers and this effect is partially rescued by restoring Ade2 to the fly fat body. These findings suggest Ade2 functions within the fat body to promote both sleep and energy storage, providing a functional link between these processes. Together, the experimental evidence presented here provides an initial model for how the peripheral tissues communicate to the brain to modulate sleep in accordance with metabolic state.
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Date Issued
2018
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013163
Subject Headings
Drosophila melanogaster, Sleep, Metabolism
Format
Document (PDF)
GENETIC SCREENS IDENTIFY NOVEL REGULATORS OF SLEEP AND METABOLISM IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Title
GENETIC SCREENS IDENTIFY NOVEL REGULATORS OF SLEEP AND METABOLISM IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER.
Creator
Murakami, Kazuma N., Keene, Alex C., Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description
Proper regulation of sleep and metabolism are critical to the survival of all organisms. In humans, dysregulation of sleep is linked to metabolic syndrome, including hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. However, the mechanisms regulating interactions between sleep and metabolism are poorly understood. Although the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, bears little anatomical resemblance to humans, it shares similar genetics essential in understanding normal development and disease in...
Show moreProper regulation of sleep and metabolism are critical to the survival of all organisms. In humans, dysregulation of sleep is linked to metabolic syndrome, including hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. However, the mechanisms regulating interactions between sleep and metabolism are poorly understood. Although the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, bears little anatomical resemblance to humans, it shares similar genetics essential in understanding normal development and disease in humans. From humans to flies, many disease-related genes and pathways are highly conserved, rendering the fruit fly ideal to understanding the interactions between sleep and metabolism. Therefore, using the fruit fly provides a framework for understanding how genes function between sleep and metabolism. During starvation, both humans and rats reduce their sleep. Similarly, previous studies have shown that fruit flies also suppress sleep to forage for food, further showing that sleep and metabolism are intricately tied to one another and that they are highly conserved across species. To further explore the interactions between sleep and metabolism, I have conducted multiple genetic screens to identify novel regulators of sleep-metabolism interactions. These experiments led to the identification of the mRNA binding protein translin (trsn) as being required for starvation-induced sleep suppression. A second screen that targeted metabolic genes from a genome-wide association study identified the ion channel accessory protein uncoordinated 79 (unc79) as a critical regulator of both sleep duration and starvation resistance. The genes function in different regions of the brain and suggest complex neural circuitry is likely to underlie regulation of sleep metabolism interactions. Taken together, a mechanistic understanding of how different genes function to regulate sleep in flies will further our understanding of how sleep and metabolism is regulated in humans.
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Date Issued
2021
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013722
Subject Headings
Drosophila melanogaster, Sleep, Genetic screening
Format
Document (PDF)
Postprandial sleep mechanics in Drosophila
Title
Postprandial sleep mechanics in Drosophila.
Creator
Murphy, Keith R, Deshpande, Sonali A, Yurgel, Maria E, Quinn, James P, Weissbach, Jennifer L, Keene, Alex C, Dawson-Scully, Ken, Huber, Robert, Tomchik, Seth M, Ja, William W
Date Issued
2016-11-22
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/flvc_fau_islandoraimporter_10.7554_eLife.19334_1644866459
Format
Document (PDF)