University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications
Title
A role for Drosophila ATX2 in activation of PER translation and circadian behavior
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Neurobiology; Emery Lab; Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience Program
Publication Date
2013-05-17
Document Type
Article
Subjects
Circadian Rhythm; Drosophila; Cation Transport Proteins
Disciplines
Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Abstract
A negative transcriptional feedback loop generates circadian rhythms in Drosophila. PERIOD (PER) is a critical state-variable in this mechanism, and its abundance is tightly regulated. We found that the Drosophila homolog of ATAXIN-2 (ATX2)--an RNA-binding protein implicated in human neurodegenerative diseases--was required for circadian locomotor behavior. ATX2 was necessary for PER accumulation in circadian pacemaker neurons and thus determined period length of circadian behavior. ATX2 was required for the function of TWENTY-FOUR (TYF), a crucial activator of PER translation. ATX2 formed a complex with TYF and promoted its interaction with polyadenylate-binding protein (PABP). Our work uncovers a role for ATX2 in circadian timing and reveals that this protein functions as an activator of PER translation in circadian neurons.
DOI of Published Version
10.1126/science.1234746
Source
Science. 2013 May 17;340(6134):879-82. doi: 10.1126/science.1234746. Link to article on publisher's site
Related Resources
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Science (New York, N.Y.)
PubMed ID
23687048
Repository Citation
Zhang, Yong; Ling, Jinli; Yuan, Chunyan; Dubruille, Raphaelle; and Emery, Patrick, "A role for Drosophila ATX2 in activation of PER translation and circadian behavior" (2013). University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications. 12.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/faculty_pubs/12
Comments
Co-author Jinli Ling is a student in the Program in Neuroscience in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) at UMass Medical School.