Having established the strong presence of a circatidal rhythm in P. hawaiensis, Kwiatkowski and colleagues then used CRISPR/Cas9-guided gene knockdown to hunt for genes connected to the circatidal behavior. By knocking down individual genes, scientists can observe the effect that a lost gene has on a biological process.
Using the genes that control circadian rhythms in mammals as a guide for looking for circatidal genes, Kwiatkowski and colleagues found that knocking down the circadian gene Bmal1 changed P. hawaiensis behavior. When Bmal1 was knocked down in P. hawaiensis, the animal no longer exhibited circatidal swimming behaviors. Instead, the animals exhibited arhythmic behavior unconnected to tidal flows.
“Bmal1 is a critical component for the maintenance of circatidal behavior in P. hawaiensis,” said Kwiatkowski. “This is the first evidence that a gene involved in circadian rhythms is also involved in circatidal rhythms. This establishes a molecular link between the two systems.”
The next step for Emery and colleagues is to investigate the exact role Bmal1 plays in driving circatidal behavior and which other genes may be involved.
Citation:
Erica R. Kwiatkowski, et al. (2023) Behavioral circatidal rhythms require Bmal1 in Parhyale hawaiensis. Current Biology, DOI:
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