Functional labeling of individualized postsynaptic neurons using optogenetics and trans-Tango in Drosophila (FLIPSOT).

A population of neurons interconnected by synapses constitutes a neural circuit, which performs specific functions upon activation. It is essential to identify both anatomical and functional entities of neural circuits to comprehend the components and processes necessary for healthy brain function and the changes that characterize brain disorders. To date, few methods are available to study these two aspects of a neural circuit simultaneously.

Responses of different Drosophila species to temperature changes.

Temperature is a critical environmental variable that affects the distribution, survival and reproduction of most animals. Although temperature receptors have been identified in many animals, how these receptors respond to temperature is still unclear. Here, we describe an automated tracking method for studying the thermotactic behaviors of Drosophila larvae and adults.

Natural antisense transcript of regulates the amplitude of the mouse circadian clock.

In mammals, a set of core clock genes form transcription-translation feedback loops to generate circadian oscillations. We and others recently identified a novel transcript at the () locus that is transcribed from the antisense strand of This transcript, is expressed rhythmically and antiphasic to mRNA, leading to our hypothesis that and mutually inhibit each other's expression and form a double negative feedback loop. By perturbing the expression of , we found that transcription, but not transcript, represses However, does not repress as knockdown led to a decrease in the level, indicating that forms a single negative feedback loop with and maintains the level of within the oscillatory range.