The circadian rhythm is an evolutionarily-conserved molecular oscillator that enables species to anticipate rhythmic changes in their environment. At a molecular level, the core clock genes induce a circadian oscillation in thousands of genes in a tissue-specific manner, orchestrating myriad biological processes. While studies have investigated how the core clock circuit responds to environmental perturbations such as temperature, the downstream effects of such perturbations on circadian regulation remain poorly understood. By analyzing bulk-RNA sequencing of Drosophila fat bodies harvested from flies subjected to different environmental conditions, we demonstrate a highly condition-specific circadian transcriptome. Further employing a reference-based gene regulatory network (Reactome), we find evidence of increased gene-gene coordination at low temperatures and synchronization of rhythmic genes that are network neighbors. Our results point to the mechanisms by which the circadian clock mediates the fly's response to seasonal changes in temperature.
Keywords: Circadian rhythms; Drosophila melanogaster; Gene regulatory networks; Seasonal adaptation; Temperature perturbation.