Fruit flies of the subgenera Drosophila, Siphlodora and Sophophora use different mechanisms to adapt their daily activity to long photoperiods
Abstract
Over the course of evolution, many species have adapted to the environmental conditions found at higher latitudes. This is likely also true of the circadian system, which regulates daily behavior and helps measure day length to facilitate adaptation to the seasons, though how the circadian clock adapts to latitude remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated daily activity patterns under long photoperiods and in constant darkness, as well as the underlying circadian clock network, in 52 Drosophila species from around the world. We found a strong, significant positive correlation between the clock's plasticity, measured as the phase difference between morning and evening activity, and the average geographical latitude from which the species originate. The mechanisms underpinning this increase in plasticity differed between species: in the subgenus Siphlodora, the clock weakened with increasing latitude, accompanied by a reduction of the neuropeptide Pigment-Dispersing Factor in the small ventrolateral clock neurons (s-LNv), whereas in the subgenus Drosophila the opposite was true. The subgenus Sophophora, by contrast, showed a negative correlation between circadian plasticity and PDF levels in the s-LNv axons. These results suggest that Drosophila species have evolved diverse, independent strategies to adapt their circadian clock to higher latitudes.
Related
- Pachysternum capense, a new genus and species for Europe, and updated key to genera and subgenera of European Sphaeridiinae (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)
- Discovery of two potential new species and two novel bat-coronavirus subgenera (Phyllacovirus and Phyllobecovirus) in the Neotropics
- Entrainment of the Arabidopsis circadian clock to skeleton photoperiods
- Emended description of the genus Henriciella: morphological and phylogenetic analysis identifies two subgenera with different reproductive strategies
- Distinct associative learning abilities for colour and odour in the flower-feeding Drosophila elegans and the fruit-feeding Drosophila melanogaster
BibTeX
@misc{deppisch2026fruit,
title = {{Fruit flies of the subgenera Drosophila, Siphlodora and Sophophora use different mechanisms to adapt their daily activity to long photoperiods}},
author = {P. Deppisch and F. S. Colizzi and C. Helfrich-Förster},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.29.754759},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.29.754759v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Fruit flies of the subgenera Drosophila, Siphlodora and Sophophora use different mechanisms to adapt their daily activity to long photoperiods
AU - P. Deppisch
AU - F. S. Colizzi
AU - C. Helfrich-Förster
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.29.754759
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.29.754759v1
AB - Over the course of evolution, many species have adapted to the environmental conditions found at higher latitudes. This is likely also true of the circadian system, which regulates daily behavior and helps measure day length to facilitate adaptation to the seasons, though how the circadian clock adapts to latitude remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated daily activity patterns under long photoperiods and in constant darkness, as well as the underlying circadian clock network, in 52 Drosophila species from around the world. We found a strong, significant positive correlation between the clock's plasticity, measured as the phase difference between morning and evening activity, and the average geographical latitude from which the species originate. The mechanisms underpinning this increase in plasticity differed between species: in the subgenus Siphlodora, the clock weakened with increasing latitude, accompanied by a reduction of the neuropeptide Pigment-Dispersing Factor in the small ventrolateral clock neurons (s-LNv), whereas in the subgenus Drosophila the opposite was true. The subgenus Sophophora, by contrast, showed a negative correlation between circadian plasticity and PDF levels in the s-LNv axons. These results suggest that Drosophila species have evolved diverse, independent strategies to adapt their circadian clock to higher latitudes.
ER -