A sleep-inducing gene, nemuri , links sleep and immune function in Drosophila

Sleep-promoting molecule found in flies Even the humble fruit fly needs sleep. Toda et al. screened ∼12,000 fruit fly lines and identified a single sleep-promoting molecule encoded by a gene they named nemuri (Japanese for “sleep,” abbreviated nur ) (see the Perspective by Oikonomou and Prober). NEMURI (or NUR) is an antimicrobial peptide secreted from neurons that also promotes sleep. Overexpression of NUR helps flies survive a bacterial infection, and increased sleep helps in fighting infection; thus, NUR mediates a two-pronged strategy. Secretion of NUR also appears to underlie the sleepiness observed in sleep-deprived flies. Science , this issue p. 509 ; see also p. 455