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Drosophila

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The Acyl-Coa Synthetase, Pudgy, Promotes Sleep And Is Required For The Homeostatic Response To Sleep Deprivation, Matthew S. Thimgan, Natlie Kress, John Lisse, Courtney Fiebelman, Thomas Hilderbrand Aug 2018

The Acyl-Coa Synthetase, Pudgy, Promotes Sleep And Is Required For The Homeostatic Response To Sleep Deprivation, Matthew S. Thimgan, Natlie Kress, John Lisse, Courtney Fiebelman, Thomas Hilderbrand

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

The regulation of sleep and the response to sleep deprivation rely on multiple biochemical pathways. A critical connection is the link between sleep and metabolism. Metabolic changes can disrupt sleep, and conversely decreased sleep can alter the metabolic environment. There is building evidence that lipid metabolism, in particular, is a critical part of mounting the homeostatic response to sleep deprivation. We have evaluated an acyl-CoA synthetase, pudgy (pdgy), for its role in sleep and response to sleep deprivation. When pdgytranscript levels are decreased through transposable element disruption of the gene, mutant flies showed lower total sleep times …


Identification Of Genes That Maintain Behavioral And Structural Plasticity During Sleep Loss, Laurent Seugnet, Stephane Dissel, Matthew S. Thimgan, Lijuan Cao, Paul J. Shaw Oct 2017

Identification Of Genes That Maintain Behavioral And Structural Plasticity During Sleep Loss, Laurent Seugnet, Stephane Dissel, Matthew S. Thimgan, Lijuan Cao, Paul J. Shaw

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Although patients with primary insomnia experience sleep disruption, they are able to maintain normal performance on a variety of cognitive tasks. This observation suggests that insomnia may be a condition where predisposing factors simultaneously increase the risk for insomnia and also mitigate against the deleterious consequences of waking. To gain insight into processes that might regulate sleep and buffer neuronal circuits during sleep loss, we manipulated three genes, fat facet (faf), highwire (hiw) and the GABA receptor Resistance to dieldrin (Rdl), that were differentially modulated in a Drosophila model of insomnia. Our results indicate …


Foraging Alters Resilience/Vulnerability To Sleep Disruption And Starvation In Drosophila, Jeffrey Donlea, Averi Leahy, Matthew S. Thimgan, Yasuko Suzuki, Bryon N. Hughson, Marla B. Sokolowski, Paul J. Shaw Feb 2012

Foraging Alters Resilience/Vulnerability To Sleep Disruption And Starvation In Drosophila, Jeffrey Donlea, Averi Leahy, Matthew S. Thimgan, Yasuko Suzuki, Bryon N. Hughson, Marla B. Sokolowski, Paul J. Shaw

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recent human studies suggest that genetic polymorphisms allow an individual to maintain optimal cognitive functioning during sleep deprivation. If such polymorphisms were not associated with additional costs, selective pressures would allow these alleles to spread through the population such that an evolutionary alternative to sleep would emerge. To determine whether there are indeed costs associated with resiliency to sleep loss, we challenged natural allelic variants of the foraging gene (for) with either sleep deprivation or starvation. Flies with high levels of Protein Kinase G (PKG) (forR) do not display deficits in short-term memory following 12 …


Identifying Sleep Regulatory Genes Using A Drosophila Model Of Insomnia, Laurent Seugnet, Yasuko Suzuki, Matthew S. Thimgan, Jeffrey Donlea, Sarah I. Gimbel, Laura Gottschalk, Stephen P. Duntley, Paul J. Shaw Jun 2009

Identifying Sleep Regulatory Genes Using A Drosophila Model Of Insomnia, Laurent Seugnet, Yasuko Suzuki, Matthew S. Thimgan, Jeffrey Donlea, Sarah I. Gimbel, Laura Gottschalk, Stephen P. Duntley, Paul J. Shaw

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Although it is widely accepted that sleep must serve an essential biological function, little is known about molecules that underlie sleep regulation. Given that insomnia is a common sleep disorder that disrupts the ability to initiate and maintain restorative sleep, a better understanding of its molecular underpinning may provide crucial insights into sleep regulatory processes. Thus, we created a line of flies using laboratory selection that share traits with human insomnia. After 60 generations, insomnia-like (ins-l) flies sleep 60 min a day, exhibit difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, and show evidence of daytime cognitive impairment. ins-l flies …