Eclosion and circadian rhythms in flies.

The disconnected (disco) gene encodes a transcription factor, which when mutated affects both eclosion and locomotor activity rhythms, as do mutants alleles of per and tim. a) The eclosion activity rhythms of wild-type and mutant (disco1) flies under constant darkness (free-running conditions). Like per mutants, disco mutant flies show arrhythmic eclosion patterns compared with wild-type flies, which emerge around every 24 h. b) The locomotor activity rhythms of wild-type (upper) and disco mutant (lower) flies under constant darkness. The locomotor activity of disco mutant flies is arrhythmic compared with the 24-h free-running rhythm of wild-type flies. Dark bars show periods of activity.