Influence of the period-dependent circadian clock on diurnal, circadian, and aperiodic gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster

We measured daily gene expression in heads of control and period mutant Drosophila by using oligonucleotide microarrays. In control flies, 72 genes showed diurnal rhythms in light-dark cycles; 22 of these also oscillated in free-running conditions. The period gene significantly influenced the expression levels of over 600 nonoscillating transcripts. Expression levels of several hundred genes also differed significantly between control flies kept in light-dark versus constant darkness but differed minimally between per⁰¹ flies kept in the same two conditions. Thus, the period-dependent circadian clock regulates only a limited set of rhythmically expressed transcripts. Unexpectedly, period regulates basal and light-regulated gene expression to a very broad extent.