Sexually dimorphic and clock-gene specific effects of artificial light at night on Drosophila behavioral rhythms

Light pollution is a major anthropogenic environmental change and a significant threat to ecosystems. Among other detrimental effects on physiology, light at night (LAN) disrupts circadian rhythms in a wide range of species. However, the underlying neuronal and genetic mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the loss of the circadian clock gene period (per) exacerbates the LAN-induced shift toward nocturnal behaviour, with a more pronounced effect on males. In contrast, the loss of cycle has no such effect on males or females; cyc null mutants are nocturnal under standard light‒dark cycles, and their activity and sleep profiles are minimally or not affected by LAN exposure. CRISPR-Cas9 knockout of per in most clock neurons resembles the null mutant phenotype. Our results show that mutations in components of the positive and negative limbs of the circadian clock result in distinct responses to nocturnal light and highlight the role of genetic factors in modulating behavio..., , # Dataset README

**Article Title**: *Sexually dimorphic and clock-gene specific effects of artificial light at night on *Drosophila* behavioral rhythms* (2025)
Pranevicius A., Biondi G., Iyer A.R., Seiffe A., Depino A.M., and Fernandez M.P.

**Journal**: *Proceedings of the Royal Society B*
**Dataset DOI**: [10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmswz](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmswz)
**Contact**: Maria de la Paz Fernandez ([[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]))

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## Description of the Data and File Structure

* All data files are in `.csv` format.
* Each file includes descriptors for sex, environmental condition (and genotype, when applicable). All experiments were conducted under a 12:12 light-dark cycle with either complete darkness at night (LD) or dim white light (ALAN). Zeitgeber time 0 (ZT12) indicates lights-on transition and Zeitgeber time 12 (ZT12) indicates lights-off transition (under LD) or start of the dim light phase (ALAN). Circadian time 0 (CT0) indicates the start of the su...,