Persistence of Eclosion Rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster After 600 Generations in an Aperiodic Environment |
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Authors: | V Sheeba V K Sharma M K Chandrashekaran A Joshi |
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Institution: | (1) Evolutionary and Organismal Biology Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, P.O. Box 6436, Jakkur, Bangalore 560064, India, IN |
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Abstract: | The ubiquity of circadian rhythms suggests that they have an intrinsic adaptive value (Ouyang et al. 1998; Ronneberg and
Foster 1997). Some experiments have shown that organisms have enhanced longevity, development time or growth rates when maintained
in environments whose periodicity closely matches their endogenous period (Aschoff et al. 1971; Highkin and Hanson 1954; Hillman
1956; Pittendrigh and Minis 1972; Went 1960). So far there has been no experimental evidence to show that circadian rhythms
per se (i.e. periodicity itself, as opposed to phasing properties of a rhythm) confer a fitness advantage. We show that the
circadian eclosion rhythm persists in a population of the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster maintained in constant conditions of light, temperature, and humidity for over 600 generations. The results suggest that
even in the absence of any environmental cycle there exists some intrinsic fitness value of circadian rhythms.
Received: 2 November 1998 / Accepted in revised form: 22 April 1999 |
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