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Entrainment of the circadian locomotor activity rhythm in crayfish

The role of the eyes and caudal photoreceptor

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Summary

  1. 1.

    Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) on a light cycle (LD 12∶12) exhibit a bimodal locomotor activity rhythm. One activity maximum, the “lights-on” peak, is synchronized with the onset, while the other, the “lights-off” peak, occurs shortly after the offset of light (Figs. 1–5).

  2. 2.

    When placed in constant darkness (DD), these animals maintain a unimodal, free running circadian rhythm, involving only the “lights-off” peak of activity (Fig. 1).

  3. 3.

    Removal, or isolation from the CNS, of the sixth abdominal ganglion (the site of the caudal photoreceptor) has no observable effect on activity (Figs. 2, 3), indicating that the caudal photoreceptor is not necessary for entrainment or initiation of either activity maximum.

  4. 4.

    Removal of the ommatidia of both eyes, or bilateral section of the optic lobes between the lamina ganglionaris and medulla externa, obliterates the “lights-on” peak but does not affect entrainment of the “lights-off” response. Thus, the retina provides the necessary pathway for generating the “lights-on” activity, but is not required for entrainment of the circadian rhythm (Figs. 4, 5).

  5. 5.

    Finally, ablation of both the caudal ganglion and the retina does not abolish entrainment. It is assumed, therefore, that crayfish possess an extraretinal-extracaudal photoreceptor which provides a sufficient pathway for the entraining signal (Figs. 4, 5).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA

    Terry L. Page & James L. Larimer

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  1. Terry L. Page
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  2. James L. Larimer
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Additional information

Supported by NIH Grant NS 05423 and by NIH Training Grant 5 T01 GM-00836.

The authors wish to acknowledge the technical assistance of Mr. Gregg Holmes. We also thank Dr. Michael Menaker for the use of equipment and for his comments and criticisms of an early version of the manuscript. Finally we acknowledge the interest of Dr. William D. Chapple throughout the course of this work and for his comments on the manuscript.

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Page, T.L., Larimer, J.L. Entrainment of the circadian locomotor activity rhythm in crayfish. J. Comp. Physiol. 78, 107–120 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00693608

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00693608

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