The moon's monthly cycle synchronizes reproduction in countless marine organisms. The mass-spawning bristle worm Platynereis dumerilii uses an endogenous monthly oscillator set by full moon to phase ...reproduction to specific days. But how do organisms recognize specific moon phases? We uncover that the light receptor L-Cryptochrome (L-Cry) discriminates between different moonlight durations, as well as between sun- and moonlight. A biochemical characterization of purified L-Cry protein, exposed to naturalistic sun- or moonlight, reveals the formation of distinct sun- and moonlight states characterized by different photoreduction- and recovery kinetics of L-Cry's co-factor Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide. In Platynereis, L-Cry's sun- versus moonlight states correlate with distinct subcellular localizations, indicating different signaling. In contrast, r-Opsin1, the most abundant ocular opsin, is not required for monthly oscillator entrainment. Our work reveals a photo-ecological concept for natural light interpretation involving a "valence interpreter" that provides entraining photoreceptor(s) with light source and moon phase information.
Significance The moon provides highly reliable time information to organisms. Whereas sunlight is known to set daily animal timing systems, mechanistic insight into the impact of moonlight on such ...systems remains scarce. We establish that the marine bristleworm
times the precise hours of mass spawning by integrating lunar light information into a plastic daily timing system able to run with circadian (∼24 h) or circalunidian (∼24.8 h) periodicity. The correct interpretation of moonlight is mediated by the interplay of two light sensors: a cryptochrome and a melanopsin ortholog provide information on light valence and moonrise time, respectively. Besides its ecological relevance, our work provides a plausible explanation for long-standing observations of light intensity-dependent differences in circadian clock periods.
The paradox of the life sciences Winter, Nikola; Marchand, Raphaël; Lehmann, Christian ...
EMBO reports,
03/2023, Letnik:
24, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Addressing climate change and sustainability starts with individuals and moves up to institutional change. Here is what we as scientists in the life sciences can do to enact change.
Abstract
Access to newer, fast, and cheap sequencing techniques, particularly on the single-cell level, have made transcriptomic data of tissues or single cells accessible to many researchers. As a ...consequence, there is an increased need for in situ visualization of gene expression or encoded proteins to validate, localize, or help interpret such sequencing data, as well as put them in context with cellular proliferation. A particular challenge for labeling and imaging transcripts are complex tissues that are often opaque and/or pigmented, preventing easy visual inspection. Here, we introduce a versatile protocol that combines in situ hybridization chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and proliferative cell labeling using 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine, and demonstrate its compatibility with tissue clearing. As a proof-of-concept, we show that our protocol allows for the parallel analysis of cell proliferation, gene expression, and protein localization in bristleworm heads and trunks.
The paradox of the life sciences Winter, Nikola; Marchand, Raphaël; Lehmann, Christian ...
EMBO reports,
06 March 2023, Letnik:
24, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Addressing climate change and sustainability starts with individuals and moves up to institutional change. Here is what we as scientists in the life sciences can do to enact change.
Addressing climate change and sustainability starts with individuals and moves up to institutional change. Here is what we as scientists in the life sciences can do to enact change.
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