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Circadian Fluctuations Of Period Protein Immunoreactivity In The Cns And Visual System Of Drosophila, D. M. Zerr, J. C. Hall, M. Rosbash, Kathleen King Siwicki

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When the protein encoded by the period (per) gene, which influences circadian rhythms in Drosophila melanogaster, was labeled with an anti- per antibody in adult flies sectioned at different times of day, regular fluctuations in the intensity of immunoreactivity were observed in cells of the visual system and central brain. These fluctuations persisted in constant darkness. Time courses of the changing levels of staining were altered in the per-short mutant: in light/dark cycles, the phase was earlier than in wild-type, and in constant darkness the period was shorter. In a per-long mutant and in behaviorally subnormal germline transformants (involving transduced …