Interactions between circadian rhythm and immunity in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

In mammals, disrupted circadian rhythm is often correlated with infection and disease [1] and immunity can be specifically affected by circadian rhythm [2]. The molecular underpinnings of these interactions are unclear. Drosophila is a proven system for the study of both circadian rhythm [3] and innate immunity [4]. Microarray analyses of the fly have shown that the transcription of several immunity genes [5–8] is regulated in a circadian manner, but the significance of this regulation is not known.