The Taranis Gene in Drosophila

           The Taranis Gene In Drosophila 

       
       Sleep and the lack of sleep has been a field where scientists have just begun studying. There is still so much to learn and discover. At the University of Thomas Jefferson scientists are doing just that. They are studying circadian rhythms using the drosophila model and have found some interesting things. Drosophila, or fruit flies, are a great model to study sleep because they mimic the sleeping patterns of young children. For example, a male fruit fly requires around twelve hours of sleep and a female fruit fly will function fine with ten hours of sleep. The unique thing with drosophila is that scientists can conduct full on experiments with thousands of fruit flies. In this specific experiment, the scientists introduced random mutations in about 3,000 flies and monitored how they slept. This allowed them to single out potential genes that affected sleep. These scientists found a specific gene that has an affect on the sleeping patterns of the fruit flies.

           The taranis gene has been discovered to control the sleep cycle of the fruit flies. In the abnormal version of the taranis gene, the fruit flies only got about 25% of their daily sleep. Once the gene was removed all together the flies would keep buzzing non-stop, showing that they got no sleep. This gene works with a couple of other proteins to balance being awake and asleep. The taranis gene will work in conjunction with cyclin A and pair up to subdue the activity of another enzyme. This enzyme was not specified in the article but the general function of this enzyme is to keep the fruit flies active. But when the taranis gene and cyclin A are working in conjunction they will shut down the other enzyme so the flies get their required amounts of sleep. When the taranis gene becomes mutated it doesn't carry out its function too well. Scientists also found that the taranis gene has a similar gene in mammals and now studies are being conducted to see if there is a similar function in mammals.

          This story really brings what Dr. Cavanaugh was discussing to reality. He has spent a significant part of his research on circadian rhythms and fleshing out the pathways of rest and activity rhythms. But there is still so much more to learn and this article shows that. His research dealt with one aspect of the sleep cycles. Dr. Cavanaugh looked at one aspect of the circadian rhythms, while Kyunghee Koh, the researcher at University of Thomas Jefferson, looked at another aspect. This research really shows how broad this topic, of circadian rhythms in just Drosophila, actually is.
References:

Cavanaugh D., Geratowksi J., Wooltorton J., Spaethling J., Hector C., Zheng X., Johnson E., Eberwine J., Sehgal A. Identification of a circadian output circuit for rest:activity rhythms in Drosophila. 24 April 2014. 689-701. 

Park, Alice. "Scientists Find a Gene That Regulates Sleep." TIME 18 June 2015. Web.
Images: 

http://cerebrovortex.com/2014/06/03/fruit-flies-have-concussions-too/