Event Title
The Effects of Circadian period Mutations on Drosophila Behavioral and Biochemical Responses to Ethanol
Location
Diamond 141
Start Date
30-4-2015 1:00 PM
End Date
30-4-2015 2:25 PM
Project Type
Presentation
Description
Circadian rhythms maintain an organisms daily sleep-wake cycle by conserved regulatory pathways, inducing profound effects in metabolic activity. Drosophila circadian period is maintained in a 24-hour cycle with peaks of activity at dawn and dusk. Ethanol exposure causes disruptions in a variety of physiological processes including circadian rhythms. We hypothesized that defects in circadian rhythm might lead to altered behavioral responses to ethanol and to disruptions in ethanol metabolism. To investigate this hypothesis, we used Drosophila strains bearing mutations in the period gene that result in circadian periods which are longer (perL) or shorter (perS) compared to wild type rhythms. We analyzed ethanol metabolism by measuring alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) activity, an enzyme that converts alcohol to aldehyde, and characterized behavioral responses to ethanol exposure by measuring sedation time, recovery from sedation, and tolerance after repeated exposure. This study will contribute to the understanding of ethanol exposure on circadian rhythm modulations in Drosophila, which may facilitate the explanation of ethanol intoxication consequences on human circadian changes.
Faculty Sponsor
Judy Stone
Sponsoring Department
Colby College. Biology Dept.
CLAS Field of Study
Natural Sciences
Event Website
http://www.colby.edu/clas
ID
1051
The Effects of Circadian period Mutations on Drosophila Behavioral and Biochemical Responses to Ethanol
Diamond 141
Circadian rhythms maintain an organisms daily sleep-wake cycle by conserved regulatory pathways, inducing profound effects in metabolic activity. Drosophila circadian period is maintained in a 24-hour cycle with peaks of activity at dawn and dusk. Ethanol exposure causes disruptions in a variety of physiological processes including circadian rhythms. We hypothesized that defects in circadian rhythm might lead to altered behavioral responses to ethanol and to disruptions in ethanol metabolism. To investigate this hypothesis, we used Drosophila strains bearing mutations in the period gene that result in circadian periods which are longer (perL) or shorter (perS) compared to wild type rhythms. We analyzed ethanol metabolism by measuring alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) activity, an enzyme that converts alcohol to aldehyde, and characterized behavioral responses to ethanol exposure by measuring sedation time, recovery from sedation, and tolerance after repeated exposure. This study will contribute to the understanding of ethanol exposure on circadian rhythm modulations in Drosophila, which may facilitate the explanation of ethanol intoxication consequences on human circadian changes.
https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/clas/2015/program/232