Date of Award

12-5-2023

Publication Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Biological Sciences

Supervisor

Phillip Karpowicz

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The circadian clock is a transcription-translation feedback loop that anticipates daily changes in the environment. The intestine of Drosophila melanogaster is similar to the mammalian small intestine and is comprised of a simple lineage from intestinal stem cells to differentiated enterocytes and enteroendocrine cells, which serve absorptive and secretory roles, respectively. While the circadian clock has been found to regulate mitosis during regeneration in the midgut, many questions remain regarding circadian clock activity and development in this tissue. These results demonstrate that the circadian clock is active in the intestine from adulthood throughout homeostasis, regeneration, starvation, and ageing. The clock is not active during larval and pupal development, in enteroendocrine cells, and is disrupted by differentiation. The initiation of circadian clock activity is affected by hormonal signals and synchronized by photoperiod and feeding. Altogether these results characterize circadian clock activity in the Drosophila midgut.

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