@article{HornMitesserHovestadtetal.2019,
  author    = {Horn, Melanie and Mitesser, Oliver and Hovestadt, Thomas and Yoshii, Taishi and Rieger, Dirk and Helfrich-F{\"o}rster, Charlotte},
  title     = {The circadian clock improves fitness in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster},
  series = {Frontiers in Physiology},
  volume    = {10},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Physiology},
  number    = {1374},
  issn      = {1664-042X},
  doi       = {10.3389/fphys.2019.01374},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-195738},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {It is assumed that a properly timed circadian clock enhances fitness, but only few studies have truly demonstrated this in animals. We raised each of the three classical Drosophila period mutants for >50 generations in the laboratory in competition with wildtype flies. The populations were either kept under a conventional 24-h day or under cycles that matched the mutant's natural cycle, i.e., a 19-h day in the case of pers mutants and a 29-h day for perl mutants. The arrhythmic per0 mutants were grown together with wildtype flies under constant light that renders wildtype flies similar arrhythmic as the mutants. In addition, the mutants had to compete with wildtype flies for two summers in two consecutive years under outdoor conditions. We found that wildtype flies quickly outcompeted the mutant flies under the 24-h laboratory day and under outdoor conditions, but perl mutants persisted and even outnumbered the wildtype flies under the 29-h day in the laboratory. In contrast, pers and per0 mutants did not win against wildtype flies under the 19-h day and constant light, respectively. Our results demonstrate that wildtype flies have a clear fitness advantage in terms of fertility and offspring survival over the period mutants and - as revealed for perl mutants - this advantage appears maximal when the endogenous period resonates with the period of the environment. However, the experiments indicate that perl and pers persist at low frequencies in the population even under the 24-h day. This may be a consequence of a certain mating preference of wildtype and heterozygous females for mutant males and time differences in activity patterns between wildtype and mutants.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{GarciaMartinezBrunkAvalosetal.2015,
  author    = {Garc{\´i}a-Mart{\´i}nez, Jorge and Brunk, Michael and Avalos, Javier and Terpitz, Ulrich},
  title     = {The CarO rhodopsin of the fungus Fusarium fujikuroi is a light-driven proton pump that retards spore germination},
  series = {Scientific Reports},
  volume    = {5},
  journal   = {Scientific Reports},
  number    = {7798},
  doi       = {10.1038/srep07798},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-149049},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Rhodopsins are membrane-embedded photoreceptors found in all major taxonomic kingdoms using retinal as their chromophore. They play well-known functions in different biological systems, but their roles in fungi remain unknown. The filamentous fungus Fusarium fujikuroi contains two putative rhodopsins, CarO and OpsA. The gene carO is light-regulated, and the predicted polypeptide contains all conserved residues required for proton pumping. We aimed to elucidate the expression and cellular location of the fungal rhodopsin CarO, its presumed proton-pumping activity and the possible effect of such function on F. fujikuroi growth. In electrophysiology experiments we confirmed that CarO is a green-light driven proton pump. Visualization of fluorescent CarO-YFP expressed in F. fujikuroi under control of its native promoter revealed higher accumulation in spores (conidia) produced by light-exposed mycelia. Germination analyses of conidia from carO\(^{-}\) mutant and carO\(^{+}\) control strains showed a faster development of light-exposed carO-germlings. In conclusion, CarO is an active proton pump, abundant in light-formed conidia, whose activity slows down early hyphal development under light. Interestingly, CarO-related rhodopsins are typically found in plant-associated fungi, where green light dominates the phyllosphere. Our data provide the first reliable clue on a possible biological role of a fungal rhodopsin.},
  language  = {en}
}