Genetics and Molecular Biology of Rhythms in Drosophila and Other Insects, Volume 48 (Advances in Genetics)

Biological rhythms, such as the sleep-wake cycle or circadian clock, are an intriguing aspect of biology. The regulation of daily rhythmicity has long been a mystery, up until the mid-1980's when a key gene in the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster, was molecularly identified. Genetic and molecular chronobiology of Drosophila has been a driving force in this field of inquiry ever since. Genetics and Molecular Biology of Rhythms in Drosophila and Other Insects describes and evaluates all of the studies of this sort, discussing the manner by which these investigations have spread out in various directions of rhythmic biology, including genetic and molecular approaches used on other insect species.

• Discusses rhythm genetics in insects, from early investigations to current state-of-the-art
• Presents all relevant mutants and genes
• Highlights the mystery of the "clock mechanism" in full detail including the remaining puzzles to be solved

Biological rhythms, such as sleep-wake cycles that are underpinned by a circadian clock, comprise an array of most intriguing biological phenomena. The regulation of daily rhythmicity had long been a mystery until the late-1980's, a few years after a key rhythm-related gene in the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster was molecularly identified. Genetic and molecular chronobiology of Drosophila has been a driving force in this field of inquiry ever since. This book describes and evaluates all studies of this sort. Its breadth includes discussions of how these investigations have spread out into many aspects of rhythmic biology, including genetic and molecular studies performed on organisms well beyond Drosophila. It also examines brain-behavioral studies, environmental inputs to the circadian clock, outputs from it, and rhythmic phenomena other than rest-activity cycles. All of these chronobiological attributes have been analyzed with varying degrees of power by identifying and manipulating rhythm-related genes. This in-depth account of the history and the current state of genetic and molecular chronobiology will appeal to rhythm researchers, neuroscientists, molecular biologists, evolutionists, and medical geneticists.

KEY FEATURES:
*Presents the history, principles, and practice of rhythm genetics in insects, from the first identification and application of mutants to the current molecular-genetic state-of-the-art
* Covers areas of rhythm-related biology including genetic analysis, gene manipulations, behavior, sensory neurobiology, CNS structures and functions, neurochemistry, non-neural organ systems, and evolutionary genetics
*Describes and discusses all mutants and genes connected with insect chronobiology - as opposed to a limited presentation of only the "major clock genes" and the "current view" of how their actions comprise circadian-pacemaker mechanisms in invertebrates
*Depicts and examines chronobiological mechanisms, including critiques of details that are sometimes glossed over and provision of thoughts about the remaining puzzles