Timing the tides: genetic control of diurnal and lunar emergence times is correlated in the marine midge Clunio marinus
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: The intertidal zone of seacoasts, being affected by the superimposed tidal, diurnal and lunar cycles, is temporally the most complex environment on earth. Many marine organisms exhibit lunar rhythms in reproductive behaviour and some show experimental evidence of endogenous control by a circalunar clock, the molecular and genetic basis of which is unexplored. We examined the genetic control of lunar and diurnal rhythmicity in the marine midge Clunio marinus (Chironomidae, Diptera), a species for which the correct timing of adult emergence is critical in natural populations. RESULTS: We crossed two strains of Clunio marinus that differ in the timing of the diurnal and lunar rhythms of emergence. The phenotype distribution of the segregating backcross progeny indicates polygenic control of the lunar emergence rhythm. Diurnal timing of emergence is also under genetic control, and is influenced by two unlinked genes with major effects. Furthermore, the lunar and diurnal timing of emergence is correlated in the backcross generation. We show that both the lunar emergence time and its correlation to the diurnal emergence time are adaptive for the species in its natural environment. CONCLUSIONS: The correlation implies that the unlinked genes affecting lunar timing and the two unlinked genes affecting diurnal timing could be the same, providing an unexpectedly close interaction of the two clocks. Alternatively, the genes could be genetically linked in a two-by-two fashion, suggesting that evolution has shaped the genetic architecture to stabilize adaptive combinations of lunar and diurnal emergence times by tightening linkage. Our results, the first on genetic control of lunar rhythms, offer a new perspective to explore their molecular clockwork.
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The specific daily and lunar time point of adult emergence in Clunio marinus varies between strains from different geographic locations, presumably as an adaptation to the exact local lowest low tide occurrences.
“The specific daily and lunar time point of adult emergence varies between strains from different geographic locations, presumably as an adaptation to the exact local lowest low tide occurrences.”
From The Still Dark Side of the Moon: Molecular Mechanisms of Lunar-Controlled Rhythms and Clocks (2020) · cites this paper as [43]
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- Authors
- Kaiser, T. S., Neumann, D., & Heckel, D. G.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (DE)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Kaiser, Tobias S
- Venue
- BMC Genetics
- Published
- 2011
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 49
- ISSN
- 1471-2156 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3124415
- OpenAlex
- W2171877543
- Cited by
- 47
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- BMC Genetics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- International Max Planck Research School for Environmental, Cellular and Molecular Microbiology
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Physiological and biochemical adaptations
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
- Keywords
- Clunio marinus, diurnal cycle, lunar rhythms, emergence timing, circadian clock, genetic architecture, polygenic inheritance, backcross progeny, intertidal organisms, genetic linkage, adaptive evolution
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Physiological, Animals, Chironomidae, Circadian Rhythm, Crosses, Genetic, Environment, Light, Genetic Linkage, Time Factors, Moon, Evolution, Molecular, Tidal Waves, Circadian Clocks, Genetic Pleiotropy
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