Evidence for a putative antennal clock in Mamestra brassicae : Molecular cloning and characterization of two clock genes – period and cryptochrome – in antennae

Circadian rhythms are generated by endogenous circadian clocks, organized in central and peripheral clocks. An antennal peripheral clock has been demonstrated to be necessary and sufficient to generate Drosophila olfactory rhythms in response to food odours. As moth pheromonal communication has been demonstrated to follow daily rhythms, we thus investigated the occurence of a putative antennal clock in the noctuid Mamestra brassicae. From moth antennae, we isolated two full-length cDNAs encoding clock genes, period and cryptochrome, which appeared to be expressed throughout the body. In the antennae, expression of both transcripts was restricted to cells that likely represent olfactory sensory neurones. Our results suggest the occurence of a putative antennal clock that could participate in the pheromonal communication rhythms observed in vivo.