Resumen:
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Melatonin controls circadian rhythms and seasonal behavioral changes in vertebrates; it is
synthesized from serotonin by N-acetylation by arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT)
and O-methylation by hydroxyindole-O-methyl transferase (HIOMT). However, its
physiology and function in invertebrate models is less understood.
In this work, we studied daily variations in melatonin synthesis and AA-NAT activity in the
nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Under light-dark conditions (LD) a rhythmic pattern of
melatonin levels was observed, with higher levels of the hormone towards the middle of the
night, peaking at ZT18 and with a minimum value around ZT0-6. AA-NAT activity
showed a diurnal and circadian fluctuation with highe