PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Sheetal Potdar
AU  - Vasu Sheeba
TI  - Wakefulness Is Promoted during Day Time by PDFR Signalling to Dopaminergic Neurons in <span class="named-content genus-species" id="named-content-1"><em>Drosophila melanogaster</em></span>
AID  - 10.1523/ENEURO.0129-18.2018
DP  - 2018 Jul 01
TA  - eneuro
PG  - ENEURO.0129-18.2018
VI  - 5
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.eneuro.org/content/5/4/ENEURO.0129-18.2018.short
4100  - http://www.eneuro.org/content/5/4/ENEURO.0129-18.2018.full
SO  - eNeuro2018 Jul 01; 5
AB  - Circadian clocks modulate timing of sleep/wake cycles in animals; however, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In Drosophila melanogaster, large ventral lateral neurons (l-LNv) are known to promote wakefulness through the action of the neuropeptide pigment dispersing factor (PDF), but the downstream targets of PDF signalling remain elusive. In a screen using downregulation or overexpression (OEX) of the gene encoding PDF receptor (pdfr), we found that a subset of dopaminergic neurons responds to PDF to promote wakefulness during the day. Moreover, we found that small LNv (s-LNv) and dopaminergic neurons form synaptic contacts, and PDFR signalling inhibited dopaminergic neurons specifically during day time. We propose that these dopaminergic neurons that respond to PDFR signalling are sleep-promoting and that during the day when PDF levels are high, they are inhibited, thereby promoting wakefulness. Thus, we identify a novel circadian clock pathway that mediates wake promotion specifically during day time.