Meeting Abstract
Circadian rhythms are repeated patterns of behavior with a 24-hour period. A number of genes, including clock, period, and type I and type II cryptochrome, are responsible for producing circadian rhythms by creating a 24-hour negative feedback cycle. Previous work in our lab resulted in obtaining the RNA transcript sequences for the aforementioned circadian genes in the mollusk Melibe leonina, which exhibits circadian rhythms of locomotion. Based on these sequences, we had custom, fluorescently-tagged RNA probes developed by Biosearch Technologies, and used these probes in fluorescent in situ hybridization experiments. All four probes consistently labeled the same two neurons in the middle of each cerebropleural ganglion, as well as a group of 20+ neurons in the anterolateral portion of each pedal ganglion. The consistent and overlapping labeling between all four RNA probes suggests that these labeled neurons comprise at least a portion of the putative circadian clock in Melibe.
