A. Circadian rhythms in higher eukaryotes.

The circadian clock allows an organism to anticipate the relentless cycles of day and night that have persisted on the planet since life began nearly four billion years ago. All higher organisms and some prokaryotes therefore have a molecular mechanism that generates circadian (ca 24 hour) rhythms of behaviour, metabolism and physiology. We study the circadian clock in a number of organisms, including the model organisms Drosophila and mouse, as well as non-model species such as crustaceans (the sea louse and the krill), and annelids (the King ragworm). Circadian behaviour is generated by a number of cardinal clock genes that are conserved between species, and which fulfill similar functions. We study not only the way in which these genes work, but also their evolution. We use state-of-the-art transcriptomic, proteomic, and neuroanatomical approaches to studying these behavioural rhythms, as well as methods from molecular population genetics and molecular ecology in our efforts to discover the selective forces that act on these clock genes. The combined laboratories of Kyriacou, Rosato and Tauber collaborate extensively within the department and are well funded by BBSRC, NERC, the European Community and the Royal Society, and represent a community of around 25 postdocs, graduate students, project students, technicians and international visitors. In addition, there are also extensive national and international collaborations with groups in Cambridge, Newcastle, Bangor, Italy, Sweden, the USA and the Czech Republic.

Particularly topical studies in the laboratory in 2006 were:

1. The evolution of timeless and cryptochrome polymorphisms in Drosophila, and their functional and evolutionary analysis.

2. Discovering the tidal and circadian clock in the crustacean Eurydice and the King ragworm, Nereis, using transcriptomic approaches

3. Proteomic analysis of the circadian clock in peripheral and brain tissues in the mouse.

4. Comparison of the circadian clock molecules and their expressionbetween Drosophila and the housefly, Musca domestica

5. The role of period and timeless genes in daily expression of neuronal growth

6. What do Drosophila circadian rhythms look like in the wild compared to the laboratory ?  

B. Aggression in Drosophila

Aggression is the curse of this planet, carried out mainly by males. The male fruitfly is no different, and we have developed a behavioural assay to measure aggressive encounters by males over a food source. We have used a unique selection procedure to find out which genes get 'turned on' during aggressive interactions, and are studying these genes with the full battery of Drosophila genetic/molecular techniques. Our aim is to identify the genes and the neuronal pathways involved in aggression.

C. Sex in Drosophila

Sexual behaviour represents a species-specific behavioural interaction comprised of stereotyped motor elements. The male vibrates his wing to the female producing a 'lovesong', which can be quantified and analysed. We have been carrying out various genetic manipulations to try and identify the genes that determine the critical song features.

Recent Publications


Kyriacou, C.P., Peixoto, A.A., Sandrelli, F., Costa R & Tauber, E. 2008.  Clines in clock genes.  Trends in Genetics 24: 124-132

Tauber E, Zordan  M, Sandrelli F, Pegoraro M, Daga A, Osterwalder N , Selmin A,  Etournay R, Monger K, Rosato E, Kyriacou C. P. & Costa, R 2007. Natural selection favours a newly derived timeless allele in Drosophila melanogaster.  Science 316: 1895-1898

Sandrelli F, Tauber E, Pegoraro M, Mazzotta G, Cisotto G, Piccin A, Rosato E, and Zordan  M, Costa, R & Kyriacou C.P, 2007.  Molecular basis for natural selection at the timeless locus in Drosophila melanogaster.  Science 316: 1898-1900

Mehnert, KI, Elghazali, F, Negro, P., Kyriacou, C.P., & Cantera R. 2007.  Circadian changes in Drosophila motor terminals.  Dev Neurobiol.  67: 415-421.

Reddy AB, Maywood ES, Karp N, Lilley KS, Kyriacou C.P. & Hastings MH.  2007.  Glucocorticoid signaling synchronizes the liver circadian transcriptome.  Hepatology.  45: 1478-1488.

Codd V,  Dolezel D, Piccin A, Garner KJ, Racey SN, Straatman KR, Louis EJ,  Costa R,  Sauman I, Kyriacou CP, & Rosato E. 2007. Circadian rhythm gene regulation in the housefly, Musca domestica. Genetics 177: 1539-51

Reddy AB, Karp NA, Maywood ES, Sage EA, Deery M, O'Neill JS, Wong GK, Chesham J, Odell M, Lilley KS, Kyriacou CP, & Hastings MH. 2006. Circadian orchestration of the hepatic proteome. Curr Biol. 16: 1107-15.

Sawyer LA, Sandrelli F, Pasetto C, Peixoto AA, Rosato E, Costa R, & Kyriacou CP. 2006. The period gene Thr-Gly polymorphism in Australian and African Drosophila melanogaster populations: implications for selection. Genetics 174: 465-480

Collins, BH, Dissel, S, Gaten, E., Rosato E, & Kyriacou CP.  2005. Disruption of Cryptochrome partially restores rhythmicity to the arrhythmic period mutant of Drosophila. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102, 19021-19026

Collins BH, Rosato E & Kyriacou C.P. 2004. Seasonal behavior in Drosophila melanogaster requires the photoreceptors, circadian clock and phospholipase C. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101, 1945-1950

Dissel S, Codd V, Fedic R, Garner KJ, Costa R, Kyriacou CP & Rosato E. 2004. A constitutively active Drosophila CRYPTOCHROME. Nature Neurosci. 7, 834-40.

Tauber E, Roe H., Costa R, Hennessy JM, & Kyriacou C.P. 2003. Temporal mating isolation driven by a behavioural gene in Drosophila. Curr Biol. 13, 140-145

Vodovar N, Clayton JD, Costa R, Odell M & Kyriacou CP. 2002 The Drosophila clock protein TIMELESS is a member of the ARM/HEAT family. Curr Biol 12 (18): R610-R611

Akhtar RA, Reddy AB, Maywood, ES, Clayton JD, King VM, Smith AG, Gant TW, Hastings MH, & Kyriacou CP. 2002. Circadian cycling of the mouse liver transcriptome, as revealed by cDNA microarray, is driven by the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Curr Biol 12, 540-550

Clayton J D, Kyriacou, C.P. & Reppert SM. 2001. Keeping time with the human genome. Nature 409: 829-831

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Prof CP. Kyriacou