Data from: The clock gene Period1 regulates innate routine behaviour in mice

Laboratory mice are well capable of performing innate routine behaviour programmes necessary for courtship, nest-building and exploratory activities although housed for decades in animal facilities. We found that in mice inactivation of the clock gene Period1 profoundly changes innate routine behaviour programmes like those necessary for courtship, nest building, exploration and learning. These results in wild-type and Period1 mutant mice, together with earlier findings on courtship behaviour in wild-type and period-mutant Drosophila melanogaster, suggest a conserved role of Period-genes on innate routine behaviour. Additionally, both per-mutant flies and Period1-mutant mice display spatial learning and memory deficits. The profound influence of Period1 on routine behaviour programmes in mice, including female partner choice, may be independent of its function as a circadian clock gene, since Period1-deficient mice display normal circadian behaviour.尽管在动物设施中饲养数十年，实验小鼠（Laboratory mice）仍能够顺利完成求偶、筑巢与探索活动所需的先天常规行为程序。我们发现，在小鼠体内，节律基因Period1（Period1）的失活会显著改变求偶、筑巢、探索及学习等活动所需的先天常规行为程序。上述针对野生型（wild-type）与Period1突变小鼠（Period1 mutant mice）的研究结果，结合此前关于野生型及period突变黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）求偶行为的研究发现，表明Period基因在先天常规行为中发挥着保守性功能。此外，period突变果蝇与Period1突变小鼠均表现出空间学习与记忆缺陷。Period1对小鼠包括雌性配偶选择在内的常规行为程序所产生的显著影响，可能独立于其作为昼夜节律时钟基因（circadian clock gene）的功能，因为Period1缺陷小鼠（Period1-deficient mice）仍表现出正常的昼夜节律行为。