The circadian clock system allows living organisms to adapt to environmental changes,
resulting in ~24 h rhythms of behavior and physiology. Many metabolic processes, e.g.,
glucose, protein and lipid metabolism are regulated by the circadian clock; in turn, there is
evidence that the circadian clock system is affected by metabolic signals such as NAD+, ATP
and O-GlcNAcylation. Although significant progress has been made in the crosstalk between
metabolism and the circadian clock, the understanding is yet complete. In this thesis, I
investigated the mechanism via which glucose metabolism affects the circadian clock by
examining the circadian rhythm behavior of Drosophila melanogaster exposed to metabolic
perturbation and the mechanism underlying the control of this behavior.
Drosophila maintained in a high-nutrient diet showed extended morning (M) activity,
but not evening (E) activity. Enhanced Drosophila tachykinin (DTk)- and tachykinin-like
receptor at 86C-mediated signaling was required for the extension of M activity. DTk
neurons were anatomically and functionally connected to posterior dorsal neuron 1s (DN1ps)
in the core clock neuronal network. The activation of DTk neurons reduced the intracellular
Ca2+ levels in DN1ps, which was suggestive of an inhibitory connection. The contacts
between DN1ps and DTk neurons increased gradually over time in flies that were fed a highsucrose diet, which was consistent with the locomotor behavior. DN1ps have been implicatedii
in the integration of environmental sensory input, e.g., light and temperature to control daily
locomotor behavior. This study revealed that DN1ps also coordinated nutrient information
through DTk signaling to shape daily locomotor behavior.
Adult-specific knockdown of the pyruvate kinase (pyk), which is the rate-limiting
enzyme of glycolysis in clock cells, shortened the circadian rhythm period. Lateral ventral
neuron (LNvs) specific knockdown of pyk shortened period but glia specific knockdown did
not affect period. The pigment dispersing factor (PDF), which is selectively expressed in
LNvs, synchronizes the circadian neuronal network and controls circadian rhythm behavior.
The intensity of PDF expression was greatly reduced in pyk knockdown flies. Interestingly,
the level of TARANIS (TARA), which is a Drosophila homolog of the Trip-Br
(Transcriptional Regulators Interacting with PHD zinc fingers and/or bromodomains) family
of transcriptional coregulators proteins, was reduced in pyk knockdown flies.
Overexpression of tara rescued the short period of pyk knockdown flies and PDF levels were
restored to normal levels. Taken together, these results suggest that TARA recognizes the
cellular metabolic status and modulates the circadian rhythm by regulating the levels of PDF
expression